Lucas' Magicant
by Connor the speling pro
Summary: A boy named Lucas goes missing from Ninten's college campus, and the only way to find him is to search for clues inside of Lucas' Magicant. Inside the world of Lucas' mind, Ninten stumbles upon a virtual reality simulator that puts him inside the heartbreaking story of Lucas' quest to save the world. Eventually, Ninten begins to realize that this may be more than just a game...
1. Physics, Janissaries, and Winged Hussars

**Author's note: Hey everyone! :) I'm Connor, and I do author's notes at the start of all my chapters in bold. This is most decidedly _not_ part of the story. *Nervous laughter* If you want to leave the review ( _highly_ appreciated, by the way :D), I'll respond in the AN here. The author's notes usually provide a bit of context, along with some rambling. They're not integral to the story, so feel free to skip them if you want. **

**I also have quite a few stories on this site, although many of them are rather old at this point. If you're looking for weird Earthbound AU spinoffs, I've got you covered. But in all honesty, this story is new for me because of how... un-weird it really is. The setting is more or less your standard school AU, but even in a school setting I can't really bring myself to write a bunch of sappy drama. So we'll see how this turns out with no sappy drama and fewer people blowing stuff up.**

 **This chapter in particular doesn't actually deal with Lucas and his Magicant. :( But it does introduce Ninten's situation, and that kind of dragged on for almost 5k words. The later scenes with Lucas really require Ninten's investment to mean much of anything, and Ninten needs to explain where he is in life for his investment to make any sort of sense. Hopefully Ninten and Ana will be satisfactory for the time being. :) And because there aren't all that many characters in this story (no real Ness appearance, unfortunately D:), the story will be shorter and I might be able to finish sometime this decade.**

 **Oh, and there are also references to 15th/16th century Eastern European special forces units, for those of you who dig that sort of thing. Not exactly my area of expertise, but there's some pretty cool stuff around that time period and location.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any intellectual property of the Mother franchise yada yada please don't sue me. **

**Disclaimer #2: Strong language (although I do my best not to direct language in abusive/offensive ways; no racial slurs or gender-charged insults). This story as a whole deals with some heavy emotional or mental health issues. While I do base the characters' mental health struggles in part on my own experiences, I'm not a therapist or a psychologist and the way characters deal with their mental health and emotions should not be taken as a clinical recommendation. Due to these factors, this story may not be appropriate for everyone... although I don't think that there's really much that's aggressively disturbing in this chapter or future ones. **

**Thanks for reading, and have a great day. :)**

* * *

Ninten reminded himself that he was studying inside a _library,_ and that he should under no conditions do anything that would create a distraction to the other people study-

 _I can't do this._

Ninten slammed his fists against the hardened grey plastic that lined the smooth tabletop, gritting his teeth as a soft _thud_ registered in the back of his ears. He took a deep breath, doing his best to swallow his anger as he looked around. Nobody at the other tables seemed to notice his outburst. If anything, Ninten noticed more noses sniffing and eyes darting towards the pepperoni pizza in the middle of the study booth next to him. Maybe the tables were designed to be quiet when banged on. Honestly, he wouldn't put it past the university to consider noise-banging levels into account when deciding which tables to pick for the library. Rumor had it that the reason they draped so many curtains around the walls was so that the cloth would absorb all the sound.

Ninten raised another fist to test his new theory that the tables were, in fact, utterly noise-proof before thinking better of it and muttering a curse to himself. He shifted in his seat and released a sigh, bending over his paper and looking over the scribbled pen marks.

He studied the crudely drawn diagram of a pulley system in the corner of his paper. The heavier weight would fall down and pull up the lighter weight at the other end, sure, but how was Ninten supposed to figure out how _fast_ the heavier weight was moving when it hit the ground? He would have to take into account not only the movement of the light and heavy blocks, but also the spinning of the wheel at the top of the pulley.

Which meant, as Ninten had been dreading all along, some _nasty_ math.

Ninten rubbed his eyes. When had been the last time he had gotten a full night's sleep? Working on physics sometimes drove him into hysteric fits on his _good_ days, and he knew that he grew irritable when he didn't get a full eight hours of sleep. He let out a yawn, although a part of him wondered if he was just trying to trick his own body into thinking he was too tired to work on physics.

Well, time to ring the emergency alarm. Thankfully, this one didn't require making any actual noise.

Ninten closed his eyes and entered in the psyweb.

Most people were connected to the psyweb in their everyday life, but to harness the network for anything other than receiving notifications, Ninten had to enter another plane of existence. He could still hear the sounds of his own breathing back in the physical world, and he could still smell that oh-so-delicious pepperoni pizza at the table next to him, but at the same time he stood inside a sprawling room with lime green floors, glassy-clear tables and chairs, and a soft orange horizon in the background instead of walls or a ceiling.

How strange this must have been for Ninten's parents to encounter the psyweb for the first time. He had taken for granted all his life how he could be in the real world, alert and ready to respond if someone tapped on his shoulder, yet at the same time look at all of the people sitting at clear tables and smell the scent of vanilla in the air in this alternate dimension.

Ninten walked over and sat down at a table. He pressed a hand on the glass. He imagined again how it must have felt for his parents to come into the realm for the first time and place an arm on the glass table without feeling the usual cool sensation. Of course, even though it was a shame that he couldn't feel the smoothness of the table, it was probably for the best that other sensations such as pain couldn't be captured and transferred through a psychic medium.

"All right," Ninten said out loud, sliding his hands across the glass table. "Show me Ana Aniah."

The glass table created ripples like a rock thrown into a pond. Ninten held his hands on the table, seeing as the glass ripples forced his palms up and down in waves. Saying Ana's name out loud hadn't been completely necessary, but a part of him was opposed to becoming one of those people who used mental signaling for everything.

And oh, did Ninten _know_ people like that.

After a few moments, the glass stopped rippling and reformed into an image of a wooden frame covered with feathers that was bent near the top to make it look like a curved wing.

Yep, definitely Ann.

A blinking green light at the top of the image indicated that she was online, but Ninten recalled that during the first time they met up to do homework, she hadn't responded to his message for hours even while online. All that time, Ninten had been worrying that his simple message of _"So you want to look over English papers, right?"_ had somehow struck a wrong nerve. And then, of course she had responded, set up a time, strutted into the library to meet him with a massive grin on her face, and probably never known about Ninten's anxiety over her lengthy response time.

Since then, Ninten had left her to the beat of her own rhythm. Sometimes, it would take almost a day for her to respond, but she always would offer help and support when she did. Ninten sighed and connected his mind to the table in front of him in order to send a telepathic message to Ana.

 _"I'm getting rekt by physics. Send the cavalry plz."_

Ninten thought over his message for a moment before sending it telepathically through the table. A ring of light travelled from the outer part of the table into the center, and then shot down the single leg into the ground below.

Two words popped up on the glass table: "Message sent."

Ninten leaned back in his chair and waved a hand upwards, bringing up a clear screen with a list of songs. He picked out one of the songs, technically listed under the pop genre but with actual lyrics instead of a couple lines repeated over and over again, and released a sigh as familiar music started to play in his ears.

Ninten opened his _real_ eyes and appeared back in the library in front of his mess of papers. He gave his list of physics equations a quick run-through before giving up and staring off into the distance. Even outside of the psyweb, the pop music he selected still played in his ears. Because, really, he _wasn't_ completely outside the psyweb. When the psyweb was first invented twenty or so years ago, people would have to immerse themselves completely in it to access its features. But now, it was almost the opposite. Almost every single student around him was connected to the psyweb in some way. Maybe they were listening to music as well, or maybe they were trying out the new psysmell fad. Ninten, and most of these students, never left home without a secure connection to the psyweb in case they needed to access the psyweb's databank of information.

So Ninten had to learn to live with the constant pinging and notifications. He could relegate it to the back of his mind. Mostly.

It took Ninten a few seconds of silence, minus the scratching of pencils, to realize that his song had ended. Ninten hadn't heard any pings from the psyweb, but he closed his eyes and warped himself back into the psyweb to check.

He reappeared right back at his original table in the psyweb, looking down at the Ana's same profile picture of a wooden frame with feathers. No response message.

Ninten stretched his arms up to the orange sky out of habit, never mind that he couldn't even feel his arms in the psyweb. If Ana wasn't going to respond to him now, he would just have to find a way to kill more time.

In the back of his mind, he knew that he should probably try to give his physics homework another shot. Maybe with a clear mind, he could figure out some of those problems.

But maybe he couldn't. Maybe physics was a lie, and this was all _impossible_ to-

Okay, Ninten. Maybe he wasn't calm. Ninten opened his real eyes, appearing back in the library. He gathered up his papers and filed them away in his binder.

It was time to work on something else for a while.

* * *

Ninten sometimes forgot, after hours of studying in libraries with other panicked students, how good it could feel to walk outside under clear skies. He walked over to Sullivan Square, nicknamed "shitty club square" by university students. The "square" itself was more of a brick doughnut shape with perfectly green grass in the center and surrounding area. Didn't Mimmie mention once that lawns were terrible for the environment? Ninten couldn't quite remember, but if so he doubted that the university would care despite their supposed green-friendly initiative.

Ninten scouted out one of the stands reading "Sunrise Art Magazine." He circled around the other stands for a few minutes, even though he knew exactly where he wanted to go. A spelunking club? No thanks. Intermural lacrosse? Yeah, not when he wanted to discard his image of being a rich kid. Christian service group? Well, that would make his family happy…

Ninten shook his head and checked his watch. No more point in stalling the inevitable. Ninten took a deep breath and walked up to the Sunrise Art Magazine info booth. The girl standing at the booth had her eyes closed and her lips tilted up in an amused smile. Definitely in the psyweb, or maybe inside her own personal psyspace. Her eyes flashed open as Ninten approached, and she directed her smile towards him.

"Welcome," she said, pushing up the pair of glasses on her face.

"Looks like you have a relaxed recruitment week." Ninten looked back over at the spelunking club, seeing a group of students talking to the person behind the info booth.

"Yeah, everyone's at other places. People tend to be more interested in fraternities and sororities than us."

"Oh, that's going on too?"

The girl gave him a strange look. "It's called recruitment week for a reason."

"I guess so." Ninten could feel his cheeks reddening. "So, uh… this is an art magazine, right?"

He could hear sarcastic clapping in the back of his head. Great going, Ninten. He really nailed the conversation with that one.

"I mean, I _know_ that you're an art magazine," Ninten said. "Are you accepting submissions?"

"We are, provided that you are a PSI student." The girl shrugged. "Obviously."

Uh… no. Not obviously. In fact, Ninten would have been less surprised to hear "We're batshit fucking _crazy_ " as an add-on.

"Hmm." The girl studied his expression. "You're _not_ a PSI student, are you?"

"Why should using psionics be _at all_ related to making art?" Ninten couldn't stop the frown from coming to his face

And of course, Ninten _was_ a PSI student. No rich kid with enough money and resources would be allowed to fail the PSI test.

"Well, it would be frustrating for a lot of PSI students if they had to deal with non-PSI students. You know, a lot of people here don't even come from good families. We're just looking out for each other." She flashes an apologetic smile. "Sorry."

What. The. Fuck.

Poor people shouldn't be allowed to create art because it would offend rich people? What kind of world was this piece of human _shit_ in front of him living in?

"Thanks for your help," Ninten muttered before turning around and walking away.

He did his best to hide his tense muscles, huff of anger, and hands shaking with rage as he made his way back to the library.

* * *

So _this_ was the world Ninten lived in.

He slung his backpack off of his back, setting it down on the floor. He unzipped the backpack and shuffled around for his physics binder. After a few moments, he released a sigh and slouched back into his chair.

Maybe his great-grandfather was right. About the status, and about everything.

A pinging from the psyweb interrupted his stewing. Ninten leapt into the psyweb and appeared back at the virtual glass table to smell the familiar scent of vanilla in the air. Across from him sat a girl his age with light, coppery hair and a knowing smile dancing on her lips.

"The cavalry has arrived," she said. "One Winged Hussar at the ready to defend the faith and help with physics. Should be as easy as fighting Turks."

Yep, definitely Ana Aniah. She dressed up as a Winged Hussar last year for Halloween and asked Ninten to go trick-or-treating with her. And this was when they were freshmen and didn't know each other that well.

"Ann, I asked your mother, and she said that you're a quarter Polish," Ninten said. "I don't think that this is really necessary."

"Oh, of course it's not _necessary._ " Ana grinned. "But it's fun. Besides, I could be channeling my Lithuanian heritage as well."

"Are you?"

"No." Ana sniffed. "But people tend to forget about Lithuania."

"Because they _always_ remember Poland."

"For someone who asked _me_ for help, you're being a little rude." Ana frowned. "But let's do this your way. Where do you want to meet? I'm in the science café right now."

"The science café is fine. And… sorry if I hurt your feelings."

"Hey, I was totally kidding about you being rude." Ana paused. "I mean, you were being a _little_ rude, but that's what friends do."

"You must have strange friends."

"Well, at least you're admitting it." Ana grinned. After a moment, she looked around at the different people chatting at the other glass tables. "I hope nobody got offended by my comment about fighting the Turks. Turkey's a cool place. Sort of."

"I don't think anyone was listening to us," Ninten said. "A lot of times, I feel like I'm screaming into the void out here."

"Into the _orange_ void," Ana said, looking out at the carrot-colored horizon. "I hate the designs of these psyspace meeting areas. It actually looks like someone barfed all over the sky."

"What barf have _you_ seen that's pure orange?" Ninten smiled. "But I'm glad that you're learning to be a _little_ considerate of what nationalities you're insulting."

"Nah, I'll still fight Turks any day."

"Well then." Ninten leaned forward. "If you're a Winged Hussar, I guess I'll just have to be a Janissary. We took Constantinople from you Christians, and we're not going to stop there."

"Ottoman warrior spirit at its finest." Ana stuck out her tongue and wrinkled her nose as if she had tasted something sour. "But I'll admit that Janissaries are pretty awesome. For Turks."

"Well, most of the early Janissaries _weren't_ Turks. That's why it fits with who I am."

An uneasy expression crossed over Ana's face. "Is this about your adoption again? You know that your parents love you just as much as your sisters."

"My parents aren't the problem. My great-grandfather yesterday flat-out _told_ me that I was adopted because of my PSI."

Ana hesitated. "He… did?"

"I didn't mean to complain. Compared to the orphanage-"

"It could just be a cultural thing," Ana said, cutting Ninten off. "Maybe he's just really proud of your PSI abilities."

"I don't think so," Ninten said. "I think my great-grandfather is just a cold person."

"If you really think so…" Ana fumbled for words, "Then I'm sorry."

"Like I said, I'm not complaining. Besides, Winged Hussars were recruited for their strength and used as tools of the state just like Janissaries."

"The analogy doesn't extend _that_ far. I'm not a tool to be used by my parents or the government." Ana frowned. "And you seem to be saying that you are."

"There's nothing wrong with being useful, Ann."

"But there's something wrong with being _used._ " Ana inhaled sharply. "Well, I'm glad that you're okay with your situation. Just… don't be afraid to talk to someone about this if you need support, all right? Maybe we should focus on physics for now. It's getting late."

Ninten looked down and issued a mental command to have it tell the time. The numbers 4:26 appear on the glass a moment later. There should be plenty of time to finish up the physics assignment, but maybe Ana needed a few minutes to herself.

"Yeah," Ninten said. "I'll meet you at the café."

* * *

Ninten walked into the science café, looking at the sign labelled by the elemental symbols for calcium and iron lined up next to each other to spell Ca Fe. He spotted Ana pouring over her massive white physics textbook a few tables away from the counter. She looked up as he walked over, a sly grin coming to her face.

"There you are." Ana hoisted up a pink-colored smoothie and took a sip. "I'm glad you came to me for help. This assignment is a little tricky."

"A little tricky? It's absolutely _insane._ "

Ana looked over at the other people at nearby tables, none of whom seemed bothered by Ninten's whiny tone. Most of them had their eyes shut, and their focused facial expressions told Ninten that they were navigating the psyweb rather than taking a nap.

"Now might not be a good time to bring this up," Ana said, "But…"

"But what?"

"You kind of say this every time."

"Well, the assigments are insane every time. I don't know how we're passing this class."

Ana raised an eyebrow. Despite Ninten's complaining, he managed to do better than her on the first exam. In fact, he got one of the top scores in the class.

Fuck if he knew how.

"Well, let's go through the problem you're stuck on," Ana said. "There was an example like this in the book."

Ninten let out a shudder as he looked over at the giant, white tome to the left of Ana. It amazed him, again and again, how Ana could actually stand to _read_ material that managed to be incredibly boring yet hopelessly confusing at the same time.

"Hey, it was interesting," Ana said, smiling as if she could read his mind.

"Well, I guess some people are interested in boring material," Ninten said. "And either you've already gotten good at PSI or I need to hide my expressions better."

"Why not both?" Ana grinned. After a moment, the smile dropped off her face. "Have you noticed all the freshmen around here?"

Something about the sad tone of her voice prompted a memory to resurface.

 _Heart pounding with anxiety, a stern woman with grey eyes trained unwaveringly on him as she flicked her wrist to slam shut the only door with PSI, locking him alone with her in a grey room. She took a step forward, the clack of her shoes echoing throughout. She leaned in and whispered three words to him._

 _"Make it work."_

 _And then, when Ninten took his next breath, the air wouldn't come._

"It's PSI testing, isn't it?" Ninten said, returning to the present. Even saying the words out loud gave him nausea.

Make it work, or be known in life as a failure. How was it fair that so much of his life could be judged by a single moment?

Ninten shook his head. This is what happened when he _passed_ the stupid test. If he had failed… Ninten didn't know what he would have done. His adoption hinged on his ability to accidentally make a doll levitate at age six. He was raised with the unspoken promise that he would become a psion and use his PSI to enforce his family's will.

What would happen if all of that had disappeared in a moment? What would he do? Who would he _be?_

"Ninten, are you okay?" Ninten returned to the present to see Ana's blue eyes, wide with concern, examining his face. "Can you breathe all right?"

"I'm fine." Ninten reached into his pocket and gripped his inhaler. "It's not coming. Not this time."

"If PSI testing is a touchy subject, then we don't have to talk about it," Ana said.

"When did you have your test?" Ninten said. "I never asked you."

Ana blinked, shooting him a suspicious look moments later. "Right at the beginning of the week. Why does it matter?"

"So you didn't have as much time to prepare."

"You mean that I didn't have time to shake down my friends for tips and tricks." Ana shrugged. "It's hard for me to be too mad when everything turned out well."

That was the difference between Ninten and Ana right there. Ninten wished that he could be more like Ana and not worry so much about _what could have been_ when the here and now was plenty challenging to navigate. But there were some thoughts he just couldn't shake.

Who would he have been today if he had failed the PSI test?

"I didn't know this was so painful for you," Ana said. "If you want, we can talk about something else."

"Hard to ignore." Ninten looked around at the tense postures and steady gazes of the freshmen around him. He could almost taste the anticipation in the air. "Besides, I always feel like it's me who has all of these touchy issues. Do you ever wish that you could come to me for help?"

Ana's eyes widened in surprise. "I… uh… hadn't really thought about it before."

"I'll take that as a no."

"Ninten." She gave him a soft punch to the shoulder. "I do trust you to help me. It's just that…"

"You're perfect and don't need any help?" Ninten finished for her.

"Of course not. But I think I'm okay with where I'm at. For now." Ana smiled, smoothing out her jeans. "Although meeting together to work on physics does help me a lot, if that counts."

Ninten raised an eyebrow. "You've already read the textbook and know the answers to the problems, and you think having me ask the stupidest questions known to humankind helps _you?_ "

He cleared his throat and looked around to see a few people staring at him. Maybe not so loud next time, then.

"It's nice to check answers," Ana said.

"Okay," Ninten said, quieting his voice. "If you _honestly_ think you need the physics practice then I won't waste any more of your time. How did you do problem four on the assignment? The one with the pulleys and spinning?"

Ana reached down into her backpack and dug out her physics notes, tossing them onto the table. After pouring over a couple diagrams, she looked up at him.

"I'm happy to help you just because," she said. "I don't need anything in return. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, because if you _did_ want something in return then you probably would have given up on me a long time ago."

Ana frowned. Ninten averted his gaze.

"I wish…" Ninten said, "I just wish that I could be _useful._ "

There. He said it out loud. He wanted Ana to be weak and helpless, even just for a moment, so he could do something to really _help._ Did that make him a bad person?

"Everyone does," Ana said. "And maybe it's easy to be me and to know how to help. But I hope you know that you can't do everything on your own. It's okay to rely on me. I can say that when I do need your help, I won't hesitate before asking. Because it's okay for friends to lean on each other. So please, don't feel like you can't ask for support just because I already help you out with physics."

"Is this about what I said earlier? How I'm a Janissary?"

Ninten hoped that nobody else was still listening, because his words sounded crazy out of context.

"A little," Ana admitted. "You scare me a little sometimes. Humans aren't Skinner's pigeons. We're not tools to be used. You're still _you,_ regardless of what you can _do_. You know that, right?"

"But I don't want to just stay as _me._ I want to change and grow."

"There's nothing wrong with changing yourself," Ana said, "But your worth as a human being shouldn't be tied to what tests you pass or fail. Any freshman in this room who fails the PSI test this week will _not_ be any less of a person. And you wouldn't be if you had failed, either. Not in the eyes of your family, not in my eyes, and hopefully not in your own."

Ninten really did need to do a better job of hiding his thoughts from Ana. But she was wrong. His family _did_ care about his PSI abilities. If it was the only reason they adopted him, then his PSI was probably the only reason they still kept him around.

"Even if we get this physics problem wrong," Ana said, "Even if we fail this class like you always say we will-"

"Hey, I only said that I'll fail. You're obviously going to be fine."

"Even if _you_ fail, you should never let failure convince you that you can't be the person you want to be."

Ana looked into his eyes, watching for the slightest motion, the first sign of nervousness or avoidance.

Ninten didn't flinch.

"Maybe we can talk about this later," he said. "I just want to get this assignment done and go home."

Ana adopted a weary smile and slouched back in her chair. "Yeah, I'm pretty tired as well. A little break from all of this work could do wonders for my eating habits. Maybe I'll force myself to make something other than pasta tonight."

Yet even as she smiled, Ninten heard a hard undertone woven beneath her casual words. He looked into Ana's eyes, saw them tighten, and knew that this wouldn't be the end of their conversation.

Staring at Ana's face, he almost missed the sound of footsteps behind him. Ana's gaze shot up as she looked at something behind him, and Ninten turned around to see a man wearing a suit with his hands crossed behind his back. He bowed to Ninten, holding the pose for several moments too long before standing up straight.

"Ninten," Ana whispered. "Do you know this guy?"

Great. Just _great._ Now Ana would know… well, she already knew about _that,_ but he hadn't really told her everything about what his social status truly entailed. And as far as he was concerned, the more people who saw him as a regular kid, the better.

"I told him," Ninten said, standing up and addressing the man in the suit. "He could send me a message through the psyweb. This is _completely_ unnecessary."

The man offered an apologetic shrug. "Unfortunately, I do not have a say in the matter. Dean George has requested your presence. Immediately."

Now _that_ caught the attention of students around him. Ninten gulped as he looked at all of the heads swiveling and eyes sizing him up. They probably thought he was about to get expelled.

Ninten took a deep breath, realizing only then that he had been clenching his fists. He held his hands together, trying his best to look professional as he smiled at the man in the suit. The poor man really was just one of George's messengers, and he didn't deserve Ninten's anger.

"All right," Ninten said. "Lead the way, then."

Several pairs of eyes followed him as he walked out of the café behind the man in the suit. Ninten knew that he hadn't done anything wrong, and even if he had he would never get expelled.

Not when the dean, known in America only as "George," was Ninten's great-grandfather.


	2. A Korean Legacy

**Hey, everyone. :) Thanks for reading through the first chapter, and thanks for giving this chapter a chance as well.**

 **You know how I said that last chapter was background? I didn't want this chapter to be background too. I really didn't. I wanted to get onto the Lucas stuff. Honest.**

 **And then this chapter hit 6.3k words without the AN.**

 **So despite the fact that I'm slowly turning into PKTofuMaster, I feel like the content in this chapter is... still necessary? Hopefully? On an analytical level, I think it sets up more about Ninten and what's really at stake for him here. And on an anecdotal level... I'm learning that scenes don't always have to directly advance the plot to be cool/memorable. Not that my scenes are especially great, but hopefully there's something in here that's interesting despite the fact that we still don't see Lucas' Magicant yet (it's coming I promise).**

 **And also, I happened to include WWII and cold war politics into this chapter, for whatever reason. Even if history is boring for you, hopefully it gives the characters a bit more life. If not, feel free to let me know.**

 **Some of the historical events referenced are even more messed up then I have the characters admit, and I was debating on how much to talk about the nastier sides of some of the conflicts. I ended up not talking about the absolute worst instances of abuse because I didn't want to head down that route, but some of the events mentioned in this chapter affected real people who are living today and I'll do my best to stand with those who survived such abuse. I'm not trying to demean their experiences in any way.**

 **Also, I've been alerted to the fact that my characters often come across as insensitive, and that they basically say what I want them to in order to get other characters to explain what I want explained. Some characters get to be assholes (and we meet one today), but for the most part I don't want characters ignoring each other's feelings just because I want something cool explined. I tried to make the dynamic between Mary and Ninten a more reactive one; I tried to explain what I wanted to without Mary and Ninten forcing information out of each other. Hopefully it works out to be more entertaining.**

 **Thanks again for your support. If nobody were around to read the stuff I write, I wouldn't be doing this. :)**

* * *

 **Review Response: YoKaiShoubiao: Ah, good catch with the Ness/Ninten mixup (Ness was originally planned to be the protag of the fic and I still think of it that way sometimes). I promise I edit by stuff but their names look so similar when I scan the page. :( Using ctrl-f from now on to make sure I'm not making the same mistake again. And thanks for taking the time to leave a message. It means a lot to me. :)**

* * *

Ninten rode the elevator up to the top floor of the central administration building alongside the man in the suit. The man in the suit remained as stiff as a wax model, but Ninten couldn't help checking his own watch three times during the short elevator ride. As the doors opened to reveal a golden carpet leading to a worn oaken door in the middle of a brick wall. Ninten reached into his pocket to make sure that his inhaler was there.

Always a good idea to keep an inhaler handy when facing someone like his great-grandfather.

The man in the suit stepped out of the elevator, and Ninten released a sigh before following. The man walked over to the door and opened it, gesturing for Ninten to enter. Ninten was so familiar with the single chair and the wooden table in the room that he hardly noticed them as he walked inside.

As the door shut behind him, Ninten sat down on the only chair in the room. On the table in front of him sat the same wooden turtle ship model as always. Ninten ran a finger over the wooden dragon's head at the front of the model. He remembered playing with a plastic version of this ship given to him by his grandparents. He had always pictured the ships as having a life of their own, creatures created from wood and iron that were controlled by the dragon head. When he was older, his grandfather told him that the dragon head doubled as a cannon and a massive flamethrower, which only made the ship seem more awesome.

Ninten took a deep breath. He had expected that this would get easier as he did it more, but being familiar with meeting his great-grandfather didn't make him any more comfortable with the idea. Still, his mind would prey on his nervousness and talk him out of almost anything if he sat on the idea for enough time, so Ninten couldn't afford to wait.

He closed his eyes and reached out with his psychic senses, and the world before him became a mess of pulsating psychic energy. The power of the psyweb in the air around him seemed to warm up the room as it danced with the energy of a million psychic connections. But Ninten wasn't looking to connect to the psyweb.

At the center of the table, Ninten detected an orb of psychic power that radiated so much energy that Ninten couldn't quite look straight at it, even with his eyes closed. Ninten reached out with an arm and touched the spot where the orb was, feeling his fingers grasp empty air.

This ball of energy wasn't part of the psyweb, but rather an offline psyspace. Ninten tried to keep most of his sensitive information away from the psyweb where everyone could access it by storing the information in his own personal psyspace instead, but it was becoming harder and harder to remain offline with psyweb data management getting better and more efficient every year. Nobody would _really_ want his information when there were millions of people out there, right? No point in shoving all of data in a stationary orb when he could access it anywhere he wanted from the psyweb.

Evidently, Ninten's great-grandfather didn't struggle with keeping most of his information in the psyspace rather than the open psyweb. In fact, Ninten hadn't seen him on the psyweb for years.

And, well, he also hadn't seen his great-grandfather in _person_ for quite some time. But maybe his great-grandfather was finally getting old.

Ninten nodded to himself before connecting his mind to the energy orb floating above the table.

The pulsating sensations around him stopped. His vision remained black. Ninten could still, ever so vaguely, feel himself back in the real world, but this detachment was familiar enough for him to know that he had entered his great-grandfather's personal psyspace.

After a moment, white text popped up reading "ACCESS GRANTED," and the world unfolded around him.

* * *

Ninten found himself standing on a seaside deck. The smell of salt washed over him as the waves crashed below the wooden planks under his feet. Following the deck away from the shore led to a wooden cottage that looked battered and worn, likely from withstanding one too many storms.

On the deck itself stood several sets of tables and chairs made from pine wood that reminded Ninten of a seaside restaurant that advertised its ocean view. Unlike a restaurant however, the tables and chairs looked old and creaky, and the deck was completely empty. As Ninten went over to examine the chair, he noticed the water damage that caused part of the wood to curl in. He sniffed the air and smelled the scent of rotting wood under the salty breeze. Ninten placed his hand down on the seat. Definitely wet.

That was one advantage to staying in a personal psyspace, Ninten supposed. Here, he could touch objects and feel them. He ran his fingers over the wet, coarse wood just to remind himself that he could.

Ninten turned his head as the door to the cottage opened, and two figures stepped out onto the deck.

"You're late," said his great-grandfather George.

It had been so long since Ninten had seen his great-grandfather in person that he had forgotten what George truly looked like. Here in the psyspace, George appeared as an age thirty-something man wearing a full suit and a silver watch on his right wrist. But while Ninten couldn't remember his great-grandfather's general appearance, he could certainly remember the gaze that George was directing at him now. Slightly disappointed, demanding, and utterly unwavering. Ninten's mom had told him that even now, George could make her feel naked for a single glance, and the knowledge that he wasn't so alone in his fear made Ninten feel better as he took an involuntary step back.

But what really sent a chill down his spine was the woman standing next to George. A slight smile dancing on her lips, a Victorian-era feathered hat on her head, and a white dress flowing down her body greeted Ninten as his great-grandmother Mary took a step forward. If Mary were here, it was because George wanted to use her to guilt Ninten into something. And Ninten wasn't sure he would have the heart to say no to her another time.

"I'm sorry for being late," Ninten said, suddenly aware that he had been staring for too long. "Why did you call me here?"

George's eyes narrowed so slightly that Ninten would have missed it if he hadn't been looking right at his great-grandfather. But then again, George's commanding air and piercing gaze meant that Ninten couldn't look away even if he wanted it.

"You know," George said, "If I had spoken that way to my father, he would have had me beaten."

"Oh, lay off him, George," Mary said. Her words, unlike her husband's, were touched by a slight Asian accent. "Times are different now, and we're _still_ waiting for you to mellow in your old age."

George frowned, but kept his iron gaze directed toward Ninten. "I'm here to revisit the idea of extra security measures for you."

Really. This again?

"Thank you for your concern, but I still don't need a bodyguard to follow me around everywhere I go," Ninten said. The words came out harsher than he intended.

"You have expressed your… opinion in the matter," George said, as if he were indignant to be forced to even _consider_ Ninten's input. "Unfortunately, this is about more than just you. You are our family's hope for the future."

Yeah, because Ninten was naturally the best with PSI out of everyone in his generation. His older cousins, while technically in PSI programs at other universities, showed little natural talent with psychic powers. Ninten supposed that he should be grateful. If his cousins could use PSI well, his family wouldn't have needed to adopt him.

"And as such," George said, "I expect you to _behave_ like a member of the family."

Ninten drew a shaky breath. It was in moments like these, under George's harsh stare and harsh words ringing in the back of his mind, that Ninten grew self-conscious about his own Whiteness.

He had never felt particularly White around his parents. Sure, he had learned in middle school that they were "Asian" and that he was somehow different from them in that way, but for the majority of his life he and them had both been just… people. Besides, it wasn't hard for a White guy to fit in with people who deep-fried their chicken and barbequed their beef.

Even around his grandparents, he didn't feel especially White. He supposed it would have been different to have grandparents born in America. But for him as a child, his grandparents were still _normal._ The dollar bills they shoved into his hands each time they visited was normal. The way that his grandmother fretted over him, hovering around while speaking to him in broken English, was normal. As Ninten grew older, he started to see why he might be different than his grandparents, but he told himself that it was because they learned English late in life and grew up in a different culture. It was never, _never_ because of his pale skin and hazel eyes.

But when confronted with George, Ninten always got the sense that he just _wasn't good enough._ Even now, George looked over him like a tiger sizing up its prey, and Ninten wished that he could blend in and look the same as the rest of his family _._ Maybe then, George would finally accept him as a person rather than a tool. Sometimes, he tried to convince himself that his Jewish background and dark hair made him look sort of Asian, but who was he kidding? His whole family—no, the whole _world_ —was trained to tell the difference. He would never fit in.

In the back of his mind, Ninten knew that even changing his skin tone and eye color wouldn't be enough for him to fit in. George sized him up the same way he looked at everyone. It didn't matter what Ninten looked like so long as he could do useful things for George. Changing his race would accomplish nothing, but that didn't make the shame and embarrassment go away. It didn't stop him from looking at his own skin and wishing that he could just be _different._

"George," Mary said, bringing Ninten back into the conversation, "You're _scaring_ him."

"If that's what I need to get respect from him, then I'll take it." George still kept his gaze on Ninten while speaking to his wife. "I understand that he just wants to be normal and fit in with his friends. But his responsibilities lie with the family."

"Please," Ninten said. "I'll be a good psion. I'm getting good grades, and we already agreed that I would stop my drawing and work harder on psionics. Please, just let me live my own life. I'll give you what you want."

Ninten hadn't stayed true to his promise to abandon art, but he was pretty sure George had no way of knowing that.

"He's right about that," Mary said, turning to face George. "Honestly, I feel like Ninten isn't having enough fun. Can you imagine not going to a _single_ party your first year at college? Poor Ninten has it rough."

"I certainly can," George said, "Because I have experienced that exact situation."

"Well," Mary said, "You're boring."

For the first time, George turned towards his wife. Ninten realized that he had been holding his breath under his great-grandfather's iron stare and exhaled.

"You said that you would support me on this," George said, his eyes narrowing. "We both know that Ninten is our future. We cannot afford to let this go to waste."

Instead of wilting under George's demanding gaze, Mary cocked her head in contemplation. After a moment, she released a sigh. "Tell him the truth, George."

"But we agreed-"

"He deserves to know."

Ninten was so stunned at how Mary stood up to George that it took his brain a few moments to comprehend that _someone was actually standing up to George._ By the time he finished, he was vaguely aware that George had sighed and turned back to face Ninten. George's face looked even tighter than normal, his usual sternness mixed with the slight disbelief that _he_ of all people was giving into another person's request.

"The truth," George said, "Is that there's reason to fear for your safety."

Ninten reached into his pocket, and remembered that his inhaler was back in the real world. He did his best to hide a wave of panic with a smile and a nod.

"Just two days ago," George said, "Someone went missing. A freshman living on campus. His roommate told the RA, who filed a missing person report that went through university police and ended up in my hands. It's sensitive information, so while I can't _completely_ sweep his disappearance under the rug, I've done my best to avoid linking him to university housing. We can't have a single boy's actions reflect on the whole university, now can we?"

At this point, Ninten wasn't even surprised that George's first response had been to try and protect his own reputation. He could sense that George wasn't in the mood to be interrupted, however, and let his great-grandfather continue.

"Nevertheless, the fact remains that you could be in danger," George said. "There was also an armed robbery at a Seven-Eleven store just a few days ago. The instances could be linked."

Not particularly likely. The kind of people to rob a convenience store probably didn't have enough foresight to carry out a kidnapping and ransom.

"Therefore, the logical course of action is to make sure that no harm falls upon you, no matter what it takes" George said. "As much as you dislike being watched, it is normal for your relatives to make sure you're safe."

Yeah, most parents wanted to keep their children safe because of an emotion called love, which was almost _certainly_ absent from George's heart.

"I will make this quite clear so that we are both on the same page," George said. "You will have a bodyguard to accompany you anywhere you go. That means he will attend your classes, keep watch over your dorm room, and accompany you around town. I have the resources at my disposal, and it would take someone hopelessly stubborn to refuse."

George raised a single eyebrow. A challenge, then. Ninten took a moment to collect himself, inhaling and exhaling deeply to calm his nerves.

"With all due respect, great-grandfather," Ninten said, doing his best to keep his tone subservient, "You're going to have to try a little harder than that."

George's face twitched, and for a moment his ever-neutral expression turned into a sneer.

"I've explained again and again," Ninten said, "That having a bodyguard isn't practical. At some point, I need to learn how to live without someone constantly watching over me."

The ocean wind ruffled George's hair and flapped the loose end of Ninten's shirt back and forth as George and Ninten stared at each other, neither one of them speaking up for what must have been minutes.

"I agree with Ninten," Mary finally said, drawing George's attention. "It would be really embarrassing to have to go through college with an armed guard following you everywhere." She frowned. "And it would probably freak the other kids out."

"They don't have to open carry a weapon," George said, "And the other students don't _matter._ Our future rests on Ninten."

"But really, who truly knows what the future has to hold?" Mary said, looking up at the sky and spreading her arms out as if basking in the glory of some superior entity. "It can be more fun to leave it up in the air. Maybe our future rests not inside Ninten, but within our own hearts."

George frowned ever so slightly. Ninten could tell that Mary was saying anything that would get under George's skin, and maybe he did too, but that didn't stop him from taking the bait.

"Yes, the future is unknown," George said, frowning between each word, "But we should still try to control it. That's what we have Ninten for. You _promised_ that you would help me with this."

It dawned on Ninten that George had a plan, that _of course_ he had a plan, perfectly crafted to get Ninten to agree to any demand set in front of him. Mary was deliberately undermining that plan. With George's attention directed at Mary instead of him, Ninten shot his great-grandmother a thankful smile.

"Oh, did I make a promise like that?" Mary yawned, holding onto her hat as a gust of wind threatened to blow it off. "My memory is suck a fickle thing these days."

"You…" George clenched his fists. "You know that I won't fall for that. Your memory never had problems befo-"

Mary yawned again, loudly enough to cut off what George was saying.

"What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?" George said, his face flushing with anger. "We're supposed to be a team."

"Now, now," Mary wagged her finger. "Let's be reasonable."

"It's hard to be _fucking reasonable_ when you act like this." George's words were no louder than normal, but the tone was icy enough that Ninten felt a chill run down his spine. "If even you're against me, then who's left for me to trust?"

Mary shrugged. George inhaled sharply. After a moment, he turned back towards Ninten, his left hand gripping the silver watch on his right wrist.

"This, young man, is not over," George said.

Before Ninten could respond, George vanished from sight. Ninten released a sigh of relief. Sure, George could pop back onto the deck again if he wanted to, but for now he didn't have to be on guard. Mary's posture relaxed as well, and she dropped her airheaded expression and replaced it with an amused smile.

"I'm sorry that you had to see us like that," Mary said.

"Sometimes, I don't understand great-grandfather," Ninten said, shaking his head. "Did he actually think that I agree to be watched day and night by one of his guards?"

"As far as I can tell, he did think so." Mary frowned. "Ah, I remember now. George didn't tell you everything that I wanted him to."

Mary walked over to the edge of the deck and looked out at the ocean, putting both hands on the railing. Ninten walked next to her and tried to read her facial expression. She looked… wistful, maybe with a bit of regret mixed in. After a few moments, she looked over at Ninten. Her gaze, opposite from George's, gave off a calming aura that prompted Ninten to move closer.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I just… get confused sometimes, trying to remember who I am."

She tossed her feathered hat off into the sea, watching the hat go all the way until it fell underneath the waves. As a gust of wind battered her long, black hair across her face, she turned back towards Ninten.

"George didn't tell you all the circumstance about the boy's disappearance from campus," Mary said, brushing long strands of hair away from her mouth.

Oh, right. Ninten had already let that detail slip his mind.

"The student's name was Lucas," Mary said, "The one who's in physics with you and Ana."

Lucas? That name rang a bell, but Ninten couldn't quite picture him. He thought that Ana had mentioned someone made Lucas a couple times, and made a mental note to talk with her after he left George's psyspace.

"Lucas went missing," Mary continued, "Right after he finished his test to get into the PSI program. He failed."

Oh, shit. It could be a coincidence, but from Mary's hesitant tone and stiff posture, he could tell she thought that his disappearance was related to his failed exam. But if this Lucas person went into hysterics after failing to get into the PSI program and ran away, where would he go?

"I have no idea where he would have gone," Mary said, following Ninten's thoughts. "I contacted some people through the psyweb, mostly marijuana dispensaries and alcohol vendors. They didn't report seeing anyone like Lucas."

That was a good first guess, to think that Lucas would have gotten himself high and passed out after his failure. Something told Ninten that George would have never even thought of the possibility. And, well, it might not have been Ninten's first idea either. Maybe Ninten's great-grandmother was just more in the loop than he was. What a strange thought.

"My real body isn't in any shape to go out asking questions," Mary said, "So I sent out administrative figures to go asking questions. But they don't always know students on a personal level."

"And you think I do?"

"I thought that you might have an idea. And I figured that it didn't hurt to ask."

Ninten shook his head. "Sorry, grandma, but I don't really understand other people my age. I don't have the slightest clue where he could have gone."

"Ah, well, that's okay." Mary put a hand on Ninten's shoulder. "Would you mind keeping your eyes peeled for anything that could help us find him? Every pair of eyes helps."

"Of course. I'll do my best."

"Thank you." Mary looked away for a moment and smiled to herself before turning back to face Ninten. "I don't think I say enough how much I love you and how proud I am of what you've done."

Ninten blinked. How could she be proud of what he'd done when he hadn't really accomplished much of anything in his life so far?

"Well," Ninten said, feeling his cheeks redden. "Thanks."

Yeah, way to be slick. He figured it was probably a bad sign that he couldn't even handle his great-grandmother's love, much less love from someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. But that was a problem for later. Lucas was a problem for now.

"I should be the one saying thanks," Mary said. "Thank you for helping me find Lucas. It's not your job and it's not your responsibility, so I think it's wonderful that you want to help. If there's anything you need from me, just let me know."

Ninten nodded, looking alongside the shoreline at the crashing waves. "I guess I'll ask Ann-I mean Ana, first. I think she knows Lucas better than I do."

Ninten would hope so, seeing as he couldn't even picture Lucas' face.

"Sounds like a good place to start." Mary paused, and when Ninten looked back at her face he could see the gears turning in her head. "I don't think I have anything else to say, other than how much I love you. Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

Ninten took a deep breath. There _was_ something that had been bugging him recently, and maybe he deserved to ask now that he was helping Mary.

"It might be a little personal," Ninten said, biting his lip, "So I don't know…"

"Ask away."

"All right." Ninten's heart pounded as he cleared his throat. What would happen if he got an answer he didn't like? "I'm assuming that after great-grandfather stole psionics from Giygas and the starmen, he could have moved anywhere he wanted."

"Right. Any country would have been thrilled to have us and learn our secrets."

"So why did you choose to move to America over any other country? And why not just stay in Korea?"

Of course, the question he really wanted to ask was _Why not stay in Korea and adopt Korean kids to teach them PSI?_

"That's a good question," Mary said. "It was mostly George's decision, although I agreed that the move was necessary. If you asked him, George would tell you that it was because we lived in Seoul and he wanted to make sure his family didn't live so close to the border with North Korea. America just seemed like the most convenient location."

Ninten nodded along. He probably should have guessed that himself. As horrible as it sounded, maybe Ninten was lucky that the North Koreans were such a threat.

"But he would be lying if he said that," Mary continued.

"Wait, really?" Ninten frowned. "Then what's the real reason?"

"In my generation, we remember another enemy," Mary said, "And it's not something a lot of us like to talk about."

"If this is hard for you, then we don't have to keep going."

"No, I probably should have told you this years ago. You deserve to know why we came here, and why we chose you." Mary finally took her hand off of Ninten's shoulder, clasping her hands together. "George wanted for us to move to America because of Japan."

"Japan?" Ninten frowned.

"You probably know that the Japanese occupied Korea before and during the Second World War," Mary said, "And, well… to put it lightly, they committed atrocities. A lot of them. I had never lived any other way, so I saw the whole experience as normal, but everyone I talked to felt perpetually wary and uncomfortable. The police would brandish swords at us if we walked around past dusk. My mother walked me to school every morning because she was so scared of what the police would do to a lone child. And we were the lucky ones."

Mary squeezed her eyes shut, and for a moment she looked so frail that wind seemed like it might carry her away.

"And some of us," Mary said, "Forgot who we really were. My school was run by the Japanese, and they would beat us for just speaking Korean. Some people thought that they really could forget their heritage and learn to live as a tool of the Japanese. Many families took Japanese names. I remember a girl who tried to win favors with the Japanese by turning in people who spoke Korean. I looked inside of her eyes, and I swear that where her spirit should have been I just saw… emptiness. I couldn't hate her for being a lifeless puppet. But what else was I supposed to feel?"

Mary opened her eyes, and Ninten could see tears running down her cheeks. He wanted to tell her to stop, that he didn't want her to reopening old wounds just for him, but when he opened his mouth the words wouldn't come out.

"And of course," Mary said, "All of that was _nothing_ compared to the people that the Japanese took away. We never heard anything from them again. I had no idea how easy it could be for a person to just… disappear. We were all terrified of being next."

Ninten bit his lip. Mary _really_ didn't need to keep going, not if this was hurting her. But still, Ninten couldn't force the words out.

"Most of us, in the end, learned to bottle up away our hatred and lock it up deep within our hearts so that nobody would go after us next," Mary said. "George wasn't one of those people. He worked tirelessly to organize resistance movements. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, George assured everyone that the Americans would come and liberate us. I guess he was half-right."

Half-right… because the Soviets got to North Korea?

"Every day, he would try to smuggle information about the war in the Pacific. I thought that he was delusional when he said that the Americans were winning, but eventually even the Japanese started to see the writing on the walls. Of course, they tried to crack down on us, but George was always moving our family around. It was then that I noticed that the policemen following us always seemed to meet inexplicable, gruesome deaths. Mauled to death by a bear, shot by other Japanese, that sort of thing. It was only later that I learned he was using psychic powers to kill our pursuers and keep us alive."

"And…" Ninten said, finally finding his voice. Maybe this was the wrong question, but Ninten needed to know. "Did he never have qualms about killing?"

Ninten's real question lay unspoken. Did George ever stop and think that he was becoming just as cold and heartless as they were?

"None at all." Mary frowned. "In fact…"

Mary took a deep breath, and her grip on the railing tightened.

"The moment George decided that we would move to America was when they dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima," she said. "He was awed by their power, and impressed by their willingness to slaughter millions to get what they wanted. At this point, he was aware that Russia was going to try and gobble up as many countries as they could, and he feared that Korea was going to be soon to fall. He knew that the Americans had the economy to support an infrastructure using the psychic powers he stole from Giygas, and he also knew that they wouldn't even hesitate before creating such a dangerous tools.

"In fact, he thought that he could convince the Americans to go further. He wanted to bring the fight to Russia before the Soviets could bring China and Korea under their sway. But when Chairman Mao rose to power and the Russians built nuclear weapons, George knew that he needed a different approach. By then, he had locked himself into American politics, and he knew that he couldn't leave. That's why we're here today."

Ninten stood in silence for minutes while trying to digest Mary's words. To think that George, the man he had just defied, had been a major player in world politics was nothing short of incredible. No wonder George expected Ninten to fall in line and obey his every command.

"And I don't know how much you care," Mary said, "But that was the start of my political career as well. It was hard for George to connect with politicians and entrepreneurs whom he saw as mere tools, so I stepped in and talked to them as humans. Kind of like how we're talking now, I guess."

And he had never stopped using Mary to reach people's hearts. George had brought Mary today precisely because he thought she would be able to guilt him into accepting a bodyguard. If Mary hadn't interfered his plan, it might have worked.

"He would always want something from powerful political figures," Mary said, "And I would be the one to soothe their fears and persuade them that we were taking essential steps to grow our nation and help the world. I remember the most stressful moment of my life was when we were speaking at a UN council in 1950. North Korea had taken Seoul, and we knew that they wouldn't stop until they had engulfed all of our homeland. My job was to convince the UN that a communist victory in Korea would have disastrous consequences while at the same time easing concerns that the attack was a diversion designed to lure in democratic forces and weaken homeland security. It felt like walking on a tightrope with a gun to my back."

Wait, so now Ninten was hearing that woman standing right next to him might have influenced the Korean War? How was he supposed to see her now?

"I know this must be surreal to hear," Mary said, sharing a sympathetic smile with Ninten. "It feels weird to say as well. All these memories that belong to me feel like a different person living a lifetime ago."

"I can't imagine what it must have been like," Ninten said.

"I don't know," Mary said, looking out at the ocean. "I think in some ways, we're trying to accomplish similar things."

"Huh?" Ninten looked over at her. "What do you mean?"

"One of the things I learned when I worked alongside George was that I needed to become whoever I needed to be. My job was to convince people that psionics was the future and that it would finally bring us together and create a global community. My personality had no place in that mission. I needed to believe that psionics was the future, and I preyed on all the fears and stroked all the egos I could to get a psionic network set up."

"Wow. I had no idea."

"It's why I dress so much like a 20th century English woman." Mary smirked. "Most of the people I talked to had never really known any Asians, so I needed something that would make me seem exotic enough to capture their interest yet familiar enough to inspire their trust. I think it worked all right for me. But it always felt like I was quashing a part of myself just to put on appearances. And one day, when I reached inside of me, I couldn't find my old self. I didn't fit in with the people I knew from Korea. And while there's nothing wrong with changing myself and being different, I think I changed a fundamental part of who I was for all the wrong reasons."

"I'm… sorry," Ninten said. "I can't believe you were carrying all this with you for so long."

"To you, I was probably just great-grandma." Mary looked back out at the sea. "There was no need to ask about my past. It was probably better that way."

"I still wish I had known earlier," Ninten said. "It all must have been so hard for you."

"I would be lying if I said it was easy," Mary said, "But I did it for you."

"For… me?"

Ninten frowned. He hadn't even been born while she and George trying to set up psionic networks across the globe.

"For people like you. George wanted to create a psychic network because he was amazed by its power. I just didn't want anyone else to feel alone and scared. I don't think I ever stopped being afraid, but I hoped that we would all be able to get along and live without the constant terror that George and I lived with every day." Mary paused, taking a deep breath. "Ninten, do you feel like you belong?"

"Uh…" Why did such simple questions always manage to catch him off-guard? "I mean, sort of. I feel like I belong around my parents and grandparents. They're just… part of different communities than I am, so it's a little weird."

"I guess that's natural," Mary said. "I just hope you know that you _do_ belong. You don't have to pretend like you're different from us just because of the color of your skin."

"But I _am_ different," Ninten said. "Your ancestors come from Korea and mine come from Europe. Even if you don't think that matters, people treat me differently from my cousins and sisters because of how I look. It's not necessarily bad; if anything, it helps me out. But I _am_ different from my family. That's just the way things are."

"I don't think it's the way it needs to be," Mary said. "You are one of us, and you're always welcome in Korea. You have Korean heritage, even if not by blood."

"I don't think most people would agree," Ninten said.

"Maybe not. But we're still your people, and I hope that you don't distance yourself from us just because you don't think you're allowed to feel Asian. I hope that unlike me, you don't have to."

Ninten looked into Mary's eyes and saw weariness and longing. Even by the way she dressed today, Ninten could tell that she was still in the rhythm of trying to appear to the world as a Western woman, whatever that was even supposed to mean.

And once again, Ninten could see the gears cranking in her mind. And Ninten knew what she was thinking. Trying to be who the world expected you to be was difficult, exhausting, and at the end of the day it seemed so _fucking_ pointless. Why couldn't everyone learn to look outside of their boxes and learn to let people live between the lines they had drawn? Both Mary and Ninten were disconnected form Korean culture in entirely different ways, so did that mean they couldn't have anything to do with Korea at all?

Maybe it did. But maybe Mary was also right, and perhaps it didn't always have to be that way.

"I guess I hope that you just feel comfortable and that you know that this is your home," Mary said, "Even if you never learn how to face my dear husband. I'm not sure if I ever did. And I hope…" Mary took a deep breath, "That you learn something from my experiences, and take the opportunities I never had. I probably should have told you all this earlier. There just never seemed like a good opportunity."

"Well, I'm glad that I know now," Ninten said. "And I promise that I won't waste this chance that I've been given. Even as I grow and change, I'll try to make sure not to give up who I am just to make other people happy. I owe you that much, at least."

"You don't owe me anything," Mary said. "But maybe you owe it to yourself. You'll have to decide what path you want to take."

"I do," Ninten said, thinking about his future as a psion.

What would George say if Ninten dropped the PSI program he was in to work on art? Ninten shuddered and decided that he didn't want to know.

"But in the meantime," Ninten said, "I can keep working on school and keep a lookout for Lucas. I'll go and talk to Ana right after we're done."

"Thank you," Mary said, standing up and smiling at Ninten. "And please, if I can ask one more thing of you…"

"Yes?"

"This should go without saying, but please remember that no matter what you decide to do in life, I'll always love you from the bottom of my heart."


	3. Fooling a Mindscan

**Hello, everyone. :) I ended up putting in a bit more about Ness than I was expecting, but hopefully it all fits decently well.**

 **As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. :)**

 **And next chapter, we're going into Lucas' Magicant. I promise.**

* * *

Ninten walked back into the science café, scanning the area as he heard the glass door swing shut behind him. Still as crowded as ever, with coffee cups and scattered papers present at every table. Ninten checked his watch, seeing the digital numbers 6:38 appear on the device. Normally, most people would usually have left by now.

But this was no normal week.

Ninten weaved his way between tables, trying not to let the people's frantic expressions make him uncomfortable. Most of them had their eyes closed and were likely reviewing information through the psyweb. When Ninten was studying for the PSI test, he had tried it all. Psyweb, psyspace, paper notes, anything that would give him an edge. He supposed it had worked.

As Ninten spotted Ana sitting at the table where he had abandoned her earlier, he reminded himself that he was _done_ with his test. There was absolutely _no_ reason that his mind should keep going back to the event. After all, his future in the PSI program would be challenging enough.

Ninten walked over and sat down across from Ana without speaking a word, looking instead at the physics notes he had left at the table. After Ninten's conversation with George, physics actually sounded _appealing_ right now. Ana looked up at him from her own mess of papers and smiled at him.

"Hey there," she said. "How'd it go? You look like you got run over by a truck."

She probably meant those words as a joke, but right after she spoke Ninten could feel his eyelids sagging and let out a yawn.

"Sorry I took so long," Ninten said, "And thanks for watching my stuff. The meeting went about as well as you would probably expect."

"What did he want from you this time?"

Ana's eyes sparkled with curiosity. Ninten looked around to see if anyone else was listening. Even just with Ana, he never felt comfortable talking about George. To everyone else, George was just the dean of the school. Ninten didn't want to become known as the dean's great-grandson, even in Ana's mind.

So for months during their freshman year, Ninten had lied to Ana when George summoned him. He made up different excuses each time, but none of them explained the men in suits who led him away. She never blamed him for those lies, and she hadn't treated him any differently since finding out that Ninten was related to the dean. For that alone, Ninten was willing to answer any question she asked.

"He wanted a guard to follow me around wherever I go," Ninten said.

"That again?" Ana snorted. "You never seem to catch a break with this guy."

"Well, that wasn't the bad part. He feared for my safety because Lucas went missing."

"Like… the Lucas we know?"

Well, it was the Lucas _she_ knew, at least.

"Yeah. Mary-I mean the dean's wife said that he disappeared after failing his PSI test."

"Oh." Ana's eyes widened. "Oh, _fuck._ "

"Yeah. We both think that failing the test drove him to run away. Hopefully he'll come back on his own, but the dean's wife asked me to keep an eye on him."

"Maybe he got drunk and passed out somewhere."

"That was her first thought as well. Apparently, nobody sold any alcohol or pot to him. He could have gotten drugs from somewhere else."

Ana shook her head. "Freshemen these days are so resourceful. Back in my day, we had to go to real _parties_ to get drunk."

"Ann."

"Sorry." Ana grimaced. "This could be serious, I know. Why don't we go see if Ness has any ideas where he went?"

"Ness?"

"Lucas' roommate. They live in the dorms." Ana shrugged. "Silly freshmen."

"All right," Ninten said. "Checking in on Ness sounds like a good plan. Apparently, he was the one who filed the missing person report. Do you, err… know where Lucas and Ness live?"

"Yeah. I'm a natural-born stalker, remember?" Ana winked at him.

"Maybe not a great thing to say out in public." Ninten frowned. "When do you want to go?"

Ana blinked. "Well, right now. Duh. Unless you have something more important than looking for a missing person?"

"Just wanted to make sure this wasn't too sudden for you."

"Winged Hussars are _always_ ready to leap into action." Ana puffed up her chest and flexed an arm. After several moments of holding the pose, she smirked and started gathering her papers. "I'll lead the way since I'm pretty sure I can stalk Ness better than you."

Ninten grimaced, looking around the room to make sure nobody was getting the wrong idea. "You really need to watch your mouth, Ann."

Ana puffed up her lips and looked down with bug-eyes. It took Ninten a moment to realize that she was literally trying to look at her mouth in an attempt to mock him.

"Nah, too hard," she said. "I'm going before you waste any more of our time."

Ana slung her backpack over her shoulders and walked towards the café's glass door. With a sigh, Ninten stood up, grabbed his physics notes, and followed her.

* * *

Ninten followed Ana all the way to Lucas' room, which included sneaking up a set of stairs that Ninten was almost certain they weren't allowed in. Still, nobody had said anything even as Ninten and Ana walked through a hall where they didn't live and approached Lucas' door. Cheap paper decorations on the door spelled Lucas' and Ness' names in curly fonts, and Ninten was almost certain that Ana wouldn't have known where Lucas' room was otherwise.

"See, I told you I'm a good stalker," Ana said, walking up and knocking on Lucas' door.

She really needed to stop saying those words.

"What are we going to do if Ness isn't here?" Ninten asked.

The door opened, revealing a person wearing a baseball cap and a striped shirt. Somebody looked like they had never graduated from middle school. But underneath Ness'… interesting fashion choices, his dark hair and round face made him look uncomfortably like Ninten. The two of them stared at each other for several moments.

"Oh my gosh," Ana said. "You look just like twinzies."

It took Ninten a moment to translate "twinzies" into twins.

"Yeah," Ness said, cracking a smile. His voice was deeper than Ninten's. "I guess we do. I already checked the room to see if Lucas left anything that would tell me where he went. But I'm not sure if he disappeared on purpose. He didn't take any of his stuff with him."

Ninten looked inside the dorm room. He assumed the half that was covered in baseball posters, books, and little league trophies belonged to Ness, which would make Lucas' half the area with potted plants and framed landscape photos. On Lucas' side of the room, Ninten saw a jacket and backpack lying on the floor, cluttering the otherwise neat half of the room. Maybe Lucas' disappearance _hadn't_ been planned.

But if he hadn't meant to be gone for so long, what happened to him? Where had he gone? Ness tried to swallow, but couldn't force the saliva down his dry throat.

"I think we will take a look around, thanks," Ana said. She gestured towards Ninten. "Ness, this is Ninten. We're close friends."

"Nice to meet you," Ness said, extending a hand.

"How did you know we were coming?" Ninten said, shaking Ness' hand.

Ness frowned. "Ana didn't tell you that she was messaging me while walking here?"

Ninten sighed, looking over at Ana. She seemed to be trying her hardest to hold in a laugh.

"She most certainly _did not,_ " Ninten said.

"Hey, I can't afford to give vital information away to the Turks," Ana said.

"What?" Ness said, looking back and forth between Ninten and Ana.

"Forget her," Ninten said. "It's nice to meet you, and thanks for letting us look around your room."

"No problem. I mean, I've already looked through the room myself, but maybe you'll catch something I missed." Ness cocked his head. "But I've been meaning to ask… how did you guys find out about Lucas? I heard that the university's trying to hush it all up. Some of his friends don't even know that he went missing."

"Well," Ninten said, looking Ness straight in the eye, "You could say that the people running this school sometimes tell me a thing or two."

* * *

After just a few minutes of searching, Ana sighed and put her hands on her hips.

"Well, I may just have to use my last-resort weapon," she said.

Ninten would never understand how she could spend hours on a single physics problem before asking for help but refused to search a room for more than a couple minutes. Half the time, she would leave the room without her wallet, and she would have Ninten buy stuff for her, always promising to pay him back.

And to be fair, she always _did_ pay him back. She explained to him recently that she kept a detailed spreadsheet of all her expenses, which sounded Ninten like much more work than just finding her wallet every time she needed it.

"Okay," Ness said. He had the television on a baseball channel, and his eyes remained glued to the screen even as he talked to Ana. "What is this secret weapon of yours?"

"I'm going to hack into Lucas' psyspace."

She spoke the words so casually that it took Ninten a moment to understand what she was saying.

"Wait, _what?_ " Ninten whirled around to face Ana. "You're joking, right?"

"Why would I be?" Ana frowned. "His data files and records of his activity could tell us something about where he went."

"He disappeared right after his PSI test, Ann. He might not have even come back here to log into his psyspace."

"Wait," Ness said, looking over at Ninten. "You think that Lucas ran away because he failed the PSI test?"

Ninten and Ana exchanged a glance.

"He didn't," Ness said. "I'm sure of it."

"I know," Ana said. "He doesn't seem like the type. It's just suspicious."

"There's no way he ran away because of the PSI test," Ness said. "I talked to Lucas a couple days ago, and he wasn't sad at all that he failed. There's no way he would have left without a word."

"Some people don't always show what they really feel," Ninten said, thinking of Mary.

"Yeah, I know." Ness furrowed his brow. "But think about it. Let's assume he was devastated that he failed. He still needed to control himself well enough to hide his emotions from me."

"Sure," Ana said.

"Uh-huh," Ninten said. "And that means…?"

"You guys don't get it," Ness said, turning off the television and standing up. "Lucas was _in control._ If he hid his true feelings from me, it was because he had the good sense to _plan_ it. Someone like that doesn't make such a desperate move. They don't run away and disappear for days without even a goddamn _jacket_."

Ninten found himself nodding along. He looked over at Ana, who was biting her lip. A sense of dread hit him a moment later.

If Lucas hadn't disappeared on his own, then he might be in even more danger.

"Besides," Ness said, oblivious to Ana's concern, "We live in a city. You can't just disappear and stay missing when it's so crowded."

"There are plenty of cities with thousands of undocumented people," Ninten said. "It can be as easy to hide within a crowd as away with it. He might just be taking a few days to think over everything that's happened."

"But-"

"Listen," Ana said, interrupting Ness. "Maybe you're right. Maybe someone abducted him. But we can't prove it one way or the other. Not without evidence. Lucas' psyspace can give us concrete data about who he is and what he's done."

Ness and Ninten exchanged a glance. Ninten didn't want to be the one to point out to Ana that hacking into someone's personal psyspace was highly, _highly_ illegal. Judging by Ness' silence, Ninten guessed that he didn't want to be the one to say it, either.

"I get that it's an invasion of privacy," Ana said, "But Lucas could be in serious trouble. And since police don't really get issued warrants to hack into someone's personal psypsace, it's up to us to find the truth."

"You could be opening up every dirty secret he's ever tried to hide," Ness said. "I don't know if he would want that."

"To be honest, I don't really give a fuck." Ana shot Ness a cool stare. "Even if his psyspace doesn't have notes about where he went, I can use it to see who he is and predict what happened. I'll do it now, and I'll do it again if I have the same chance of saving someone."

Ness shied back, and then tried to hide his fear with a shrug. Ninten suspected that Ness' fears, along with his own, had little to do with Lucas' privacy in particular. If Ana could open up Lucas' psyspace, if she was _willing_ to open up his psyspace, she could easily do the same to theirs. She could look at all of Ninten's personal records, and if she so chose to, could steal sensitive information and erase his identity.

And while Ana would never use her skills to harm Ninten or Ness, he couldn't feel comfortable knowing that his information was so _fragile._ Even beyond legal information, Ninten kept pieces of his treasured memories inside his psyspace. He would sometimes go in and look at a virtual version of his first metal baseball bat, chipped and worn from heavy use. He would then walk to simulated versions of his first stuffed animals, a Teddy bear named Rex and a lion named Roary. He would look around his room at his old house with his collection of crystals that sparkled in the sunlight.

Those moments were really all he had left of his past. And they could be erased in a moment.

"Well, I won't tell anyone about what you're doing," Ninten said. "But I don't think we can let this become a habit, Ann."

"Of course not. But desperate times call for desperate measures."

"I… guess I'm okay with it as well," Ness said, looking away. "Just this once."

As if he could have stopped her.

"Wonderful," Ana said, rubbing her hands together. "This might take me a while, so feel free to watch baseball together or whatever. Ninten told me he used to play little league."

Ana walked over to Lucas' desk in the corner of the room, sat down, and closed her eyes. Ninten turned on his psychic senses for a moment, and he felt heat radiate from both the desk Ana was sitting at and Ness' desk over in the other corner of the room. Out of the corner of his eye, they looked like the same bright orbs as the one that led to George's psyspace.

The orbs themselves, Ninten had been told, were mere portals to another plane of existence. They could be created and destroyed, but the process required professional installation. Therefore, most people only built in access to their psyspace in their own homes, or maybe at work.

Ana just needed to find her way through that portal and inside Lucas' personal records.

"So, uh…" Ness said, looking warily over at Ana. "How's she going to hack into Lucas' psyspace? She doesn't seem to be… doing much of anything."

"I can hear you," Ana said.

Ness let out a surprised "eep," and Ana laughed.

"Nah, it's a good question," she said. "And sorry for scaring you earlier."

"It's fine," Ness said.

Despite his steady voice, Ness' face paled. Thank goodness Ana's eyes were closed.

"Five or ten years ago when we had passwords, I probably would have rammed my way inside," Ana said.

"You would have… what?" Ness said.

"Whoops. I keep forgetting that you don't know hacker lingo. I would have used a program that entered random strings of letters and numbers until I randomly stumbled on the password."

Ninten felt a chill run down his spine. To him, passwords had always seemed so… safe. The way Ana casually talked about "ramming" through a password made Ninten glad that he didn't use them anymore.

"So what do you do now?" Ninten said. "You have to fool a mindscan, right?"

"Yeah. But fortunately for me, most of the mindscans are pretty shitty at what they do. But I can't brute force my way through a mindscan, so it's still a little bit tougher."

"A… what?" Ness said, frowning.

"Wait, you've never heard of a mindscan?" Ana said. "They're on everything. Whenever you log onto the psyweb, it probably scans your mind to make sure it's you."

"It does?" Ness' eyes widened.

"Yeah, that's how it knows who you are and how it tracks your domain. Most good hackers can switch between several 'minds' by changing their thought patterns so that they can have multiple identities on the psyweb. Actually, basically anyone important has access to multiple psyweb domains, even though it's technically illegal. It's pretty easy."

Ness and Ninten exchanged a glance. The way Ana talked about creating multiple identities made it sound like she had tried it herself.

"Remind me to _never_ on her bad side," Ness whispered into Ninten's ear.

"What's harder," Ana said, "Is changing my thought pattern to match Lucas' almost exactly."

"Wait, can we back up a bit?" Ness said. "What do you mean by 'thought pattern'?"

Ana paused for a moment before releasing a sigh. "I… don't really know how to describe it. Different people's minds work in fundamentally different ways, and it's easy for a program to pick up on. It's something you really need to see for yourself, so I'm not sure how much more I can explain it. The important part is that every person's thought pattern is unique, but programs only look for certain cues that I can replicate if I know what they are."

"So could you get into the psyspace of someone who thinks in a similar way as you?" Ninten asked.

"There was a big discussion about this in Congress a few years back," Ana said. "The answer is theoretically yes, but practically no. Think of it like a password. If you're similar to another person, you're more likely to have a similar password, right?"

"I suppose?" Ninten said.

"Yeah, that's basically the response I'm going for. Human minds, just like passwords, are differentiated enough that you can't really fool a mindscan by accident. Even for identical twins."

Lucky for Ninten's twin sisters Mimmie and Minnie, he supposed.

"So how can you possibly fool the mindscan if it's so specific?" Ness said.

"Right now, I'm trying to pick apart the mindscan program itself," Ana said. "This program seems pretty cheap, so it's probably looking for just a few cues of Lucas' thought pattern. I just need to imitate those. But it might take a while, since I'm not really that good. But I'm not sure we want to bring a real hacker into this, so I'm all we've got." She turned her head towards Ninten and Ness, her eyes still closed. "Seriously, you two have some time to kill. Watching me sit still and do my thing probably isn't the best use of your time."

As if on cue, Ninten's stomach growled. Had he even eaten lunch today? Ness looked over, and Ninten could see a lightbulb going off in his head.

"Maybe we should grab dinner," Ness said.

"I can make a run to the Chipotle on campus, if you like that sort of food," Ninten said. "I know Ann does."

"Mm." Ana licked her lips. "I don't care what it's doing to my health. Chipotle is _delicious._ Ninten had never even been to one before going here, you know. I had to show him what he was missing."

Yeah, well that was because Ninten's family always ate at higher-end restaurants. To this day, he was pretty sure he had never stepped inside a McDonald's before. George would probably be appalled that Ana had roped him into eating Chipotle regularly.

"Yeah, Chipotle's fine," Ness said. "But I, uh, am living on a campus meal plan and don't really have any money right now."

"I can pay," Ninten said.

Ness blinked. "I mean, I would feel really bad if I let you pay for me right after meeting for you."

"But it's called a date," Ana said. "I totally ship the two of you, by the way."

"Do you want Chipotle or not?" Ninten said, feeling his cheeks redden.

Sheesh, what did it take for Ana not to give him a hard time for trying to be nice?

"Just kidding," Ana said. "Mostly."

"Listen," Ninten told Ness, doing his best to ignore Ana. "You probably want to keep watch on your room, right? If you give me your order I really don't mind paying. In fact, my family gives me more money than I know what to do with. It's really not a big deal."

"I trust Ana not to trash my room while I'm gone," Ness said with a shrug, "And I don't have much to do here anyway."

"Fatal mistake," Ninten said. "Ana can't stay in a room for more than thirty minutes without ruining it. You should see her apartment."

"Rude." Ana put her hands on her hips, keeping her eyes closed. "I'm _quite_ respectful about other people's standards of cleanliness."

"And what about standards of cleanliness for your own room?" Ninten said.

"Not quite sure if they exist yet, but I'm hoping they'll show up eventually," Ana said.

"Are we distracting you from, err, accessing Lucas' psyspace?" Ness asked.

"Nah, you're not the problem." Ana waved a hand dismissively. "I'm just letting myself get sidetracked. Bad habit of mine."

"It might be good for me to take a walk, even if it's just over to get Chipotle," Ness said, turning towards Ninten. "Is it okay if I come with you?"

"If you really trust Ann in here by herself, then yeah," Ninten said, "Which I still think is a _critical_ mistake."

"Jokes aside," Ana said, "I don't mind if you stay, Ness, but I also promise that I won't mess with anything while you're gone. I'll just be sitting here trying to figure out how to dupe this pathetic mindscan program."

"All right." Ness nodded towards Ninten. "I'm coming with you, then."

"And this is going to take a while, so feel free to eat there if you want," Ana said. "Are you okay bringing me back my usual?"

"Yeah," Ninten said. "But if we eat there, it might be cold when we get back."

"I don't mind." Ana smiled. "Thanks for getting me food, Ninten. I do appreciate it. I normally try not to take advantage of you and your vast riches, but this _is_ a little time sensitive here." Ana frowned. "Which probably means I should shut up and work on my hacking."

"I'll leave you in peace, then," Ninten said. "See you when we get back."

"See ya."

* * *

Ninten took his order of tacos over to one of the coffee-shop-style wooden tables near the Chipotle booth, feeling the warmth from the aluminum foil. Ness sat down across from him and unwrapped the foil around the burrito he had gotten.

"Seriously," Ninten said, "I could have paid for you."

Ness shrugged, taking a bite of his burrito. Sounds of nearby chatter filled Ninten's head and distracted his thoughts. He looked around, noting that almost every table had someone present, and that most of those people were either anxiously ignoring their food or anxiously scarfing down their food. Testing week could even disrupt the normally relaxing air of fast food restaurant booths and coffee shops, Ninten supposed.

"Ana seemed to imply that you have a lot of money," Ness said. "Is your family rich?"

"Huh?" Ninten swiveled back around to face Ness. "I mean, yeah, I guess. But I try not to make a big deal out of it."

Thanks, Ann. If Ness started treating him differently because of his wealth, Ninten was going to go over and chew Ana out.

"What's it like?" Ness asked, looking down at his burrito.

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" Ness frowned. "I guess I already told Ana, and since she blabbed about your wealth level it's probably just a matter of time. It's probably better that you hear it like me."

"You told Ana what?"

"I hope this doesn't change what you think of me," Ness said, "But I'm… on the opposite side of the coin."

Meaning he was the opposite of rich, and therefore dirt poor.

"Oh," Ninten said.

"Both of my parents worked jobs that hardly payed more than minimum wage," Ness said. "We lived in a small town, so my dad didn't want to take food stamps even though I'm pretty sure we qualified for them."

Strange. Now that he was looking for it, Ninten could detect a bit of a valley accent in Ness' voice, but Ness' refined speech patterns had led Ninten to assume that Ness had been raised by members of the educated middle class. Maybe with everyone communicating with each other on the psyweb, people had learned to speak the same way.

Or maybe Ness had just educated himself by reading a shit ton. He _had_ made it to the university, after all.

"We got by, more or less," Ness said. "But I always wondered what it would be like to be rich and be able to buy anything I wanted. Maybe I could get the cool new shoes, or maybe I could pick up the psygame of the year everyone was raving about. Maybe we could go out to eat at a place like this." Ness frowned. "Although we did eat a lot of fast food. My parents were sometimes too tired to cook."

So Ness was almost certainly taking out loans to be at school right now. Ninten didn't know how much Ness would be able to do with just a bachelor's degree, but Ninten didn't dare voice his fears out loud.

"And of course," Ness said, "I always thought that my parents would stop bickering if we had enough money. They always fought about something relating to money or work, like my mom being too tired to cook dinner or my dad losing hope of paying our medical bills. I learned early on to go into my room and shut the door when they started raising their voices. I just wished it would _stop._ "

"I'm sorry." Ninten looked down at his tacos, no longer wanting to eat. "Please, don't feel like you have to keep going if this is painful for you."

Ness paused, and then released a sigh. "Nah, I'm just venting that this point. My bad. I shouldn't be loading you with my problems."

"I don't mind listening. I just don't want you to say anything if it makes you uncomfortable."

"I really shouldn't be complaining to someone I just met," Ness said, flashing a smile. "I guess the point is that I would always dream that we would win the lottery or stumble on a chest of gold. Here I am now, with someone in front of me who probably has that kind of money. And you're just… normal."

"Thanks."

Ness raised an eyebrow. "Thanks for…?"

"Saying I'm normal. I'm glad you think of me that way." Ninten frowned. "I'm still surprised that you told me all about your childhood. Is money not a sensitive subject for you?"

"Nah, it is. That's why I get a little uncomfortable every time you offer to pay for me."

"Oh." Ninten grimaced. "Sorry."

"Nah." Ness waved a hand dismissively. "You're just trying to be nice. I just have a bit of my dad in me, I guess. I would rather work my ass of then have to lean on someone else for money."

Ness took another bite of his burrito. That was probably 25 to 50 cents worth of food devoured by that one bite. Did Ness think about food, and everything else, in that way?

"But I _am_ curious what it's like to be rich," Ness said. "Although you've never known another life, right? It's probably just normal."

"Well, I did know another life," Ninten said. "But it was before I really knew what money was. The biggest change when I got adopted was that I was surrounded by people who loved me. And even when my new sisters got mad at me, they just avoided me rather than dumping water all over my bedsheets or trying to tear my hair out."

"People tried to _tear your hair out_ at your orphanage?" Ness said.

"Only happened a couple of times." Ninten shrugged. "There wasn't really a lot of oversight, at least in that regard. The adults just wanted us to get our chores done."

"Huh." Ness looked up at the ceiling. "At least I never had to deal with _that._ "

"I'm trying to remember how I thought about the money," Ninten said, frowning. "Because for a while, I didn't really think of my family as being rich. I assumed that they were giving me more stuff just because they were nicer than the people at the orphanage."

"Well, they probably were."

"Yeah, which made easy to ignore the money aspect." Ninten paused for a moment, knotting his brow. "I guess when I did learn about money, I viewed it the same way that most people think of air."

"Air?" Ness blinked. "In what way."

"Money, for me, was something that I just happened to use during fun outings. Ice cream, baseball games, roller coasters… although I actually hate roller coasters, so maybe not that. But I rarely thought about money even when I saw my parents whipping out their credit card, and when I did I kind of just assumed everyone had enough to do whatever they wanted."

"Wow."

"Like I said, money was like air for me. I knew I needed it, but it was _everywhere._ So I just didn't care."

Ninten sighed, forcing himself to take a bite out of one of his tacos. He would regret it later if he didn't get food into his system, even if he had lost his appetite.

"And one day," Ninten said, "I learned that it could all disappear in an instant."

"Money, you mean?" Ness said.

"Yeah." Ninten reached into his pocket and felt around for his inhaler. "The money. Some of my family friends were big investors who lived in mansions. I knew people who lost it all and went millions into debt."

Ninten took a deep breath, just to remind himself that the air was _there._ It wouldn't leave him. Not here, not now.

But it would eventually. It always did.

"It was then," Ninten said, "That I realized how fragile our situation really was. My family works at the forefront of the PSI business. Do you know how many people want to take over PSI? My great-grandfather complains about Chinese hackers trying to steal our new ideas almost every time I see him. The government almost federalized our business multiple times."

"Wouldn't you still have plenty of money if the government took over?" Ness said, frowning.

"Yeah, but that's not enough for some of us," Ninten said, thinking of George. "And some of us don't trust the government with complete control over PSI. The US already told us it wants to use PSI to help spread propaganda and destabilize the Middle East."

"Because there are dictators there."

"Dictators that rose to power preying on fear that _we_ created when Britain were trying to exploit Iran for oil or when we wanted to drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan or _whatever_. There are some tense situations, and the current people in charge of our government are in no way equipped to deal with them. I'm not saying my family is, but… at least we don't rush to action for the sake of approval ratings."

"Well, I do agree with you that the current government would fuck everything up if they got their grimy little hands on PSI." Ness looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought. "It's wild to think that you'll be a part of it all someday. Do you think you'll be able to influence world politics?"

Wild? Talk about down-right fucking _scary._

"I wouldn't go that far. I think I'll just make objects levitate."

"Well, there you go. That's still pretty cool."

"I guess." Ness looked down at his tacos. "I still don't know what I'm really going to _do._ Or even what I want to do, really."

"Well, you still have plenty of time to figure it out." Ness paused. "Man, we're really hitting the deep subjects tonight. Do you normally share this much about you with someone you've just met?"

Ninten blinked, considered Ness' question, and then yawned. Maybe he needed a break.

"No, I've just been holding a lot in," Ninten said. "Someone close to me just told me about her life, and it's made me think about my own future. I know that I shouldn't care too much about showing off to the world. I should work to become the person I want to be and do the things I want to do. But what if I just _don't know_ what I want? It's driving me crazy."

Ness frowned. "Are you happy where you are?"

"I…" _was_ Ninten happy? "Maybe. Or maybe I never knew another way to live. What about you? Are you happy?"

"Oh, yeah." Ness' eyes lit up. "Definitely."

"How do you know for sure?"

"You're overthinking this," Ness said. "I'm happy because, well… I just am. I mean, I could probably come up with the reasons if you wanted me to. It's great to live on my own, and I'm learning all sorts of cool stuff here. But I'm happy because I can feel it."

"Feel what?"

Ness gestured outwards. "It."

Okay, then… Ninten motioned for Ness to elaborate.

"Listen, I don't know how to describe it," Ness said, releasing a sigh. "But it sounds like you need to try new things and figure out what makes you happy. You'll recognize 'it' when you feel it."

Or maybe Ninten was just born without 'it.' Maybe there was something that everyone else walked around with that Ninten didn't have. After all, how would he know what 'it' was if he had never truly felt it before?

But maybe it was better that way. At least 'it' couldn't be taken away from him. He was at the mercy of his own throat and lungs, and he didn't want to be at the mercy of whatever 'it' was, either. Ninten reached back into his pocket and felt around for his inhaler.

"Did I just make it worse?" Ness said, his eyes widening.

"It's not your fault."

"I'm sorry."

"It's _not your fault._ "

The words came out more harshly than he intended. Ness' eyes widened slightly, and Ninten released a sigh.

"Sorry," Ninten said. "I really need to watch myself."

"Well, you look like you've had a long day."

"That's not an excuse." Ninten slouched back in his chair. "I just…"

"Why don't we go back to my room?" Ness said, getting up. "We might be able to relax a bit more in a private space."

And by "we," Ness clearly meant that Ninten needed to relax. Ninten inhaled, and then shook his head.

"Ann will message me when she's done," Ninten said. "We have some time to kill before then."

"Come on," Ness said, his eyes wide with concern. "I'm sure she won't mind the company."

Ninten released a sigh. Maybe he _was_ getting a bit irritable, and at the very least he would rather yell at Ana than someone he had just met. Ninten finished off one of his tacos and wrapped the other two back in foil before standing up.

"You're coming?" Ness said.

"Yeah, just give me a sec." Ninten yawned. "I need to order for Ann."

"Oh yeah." Ness cocked his head. "I forgot that she wanted something. Did you just remember now, or…?"

"I didn't want her order to get cold," Ninten said with a shrug.

"And you're even paying for her too, right?" Ness said, shaking his head. "What a gentleman."

Ninten raised an eyebrow, not sure how serious Ness was being.

"Well thanks for making sure Ana gets something to eat," Ness said. "I don't think I'd want to see her when she's angry."

"I forgot her order once before," Ninten said. "She didn't get mad at all, believe it or not."

"Yeah, I believe it." Ness grinned. "And you still probably felt terrible for forgetting her order."

"Yeah, of course." Ninten frowned. "Wouldn't anyone feel that way?"

Ness smirked.

"What?" Ninten said.

"Nothing, nothing." Ness laughed. "I'll wait for you here, if that's all right. No point in me going with you to order a burrito or whatever."

"Uh, okay." Ninten turned away and looked over at the Chipotle booth. "Let's hope we can get back to Ann and find Lucas."

"Knowing Ana, I wouldn't be surprised if she already knew where he was by the time we got back."

Ninten nodded. His family's fortune had been proven fragile, the air around him would abandon him when he needed it the most, and he didn't have whatever 'it' was that Ness was talking about. But at least now Ninten knew where he was at.

He could only go forward from here.


	4. Sunflower Fields and Blossoms of Fire

**Hey, everyone. :) We finally head into Lucas' Magicant today. It's about time we got around to it, huh?**

 **I'm not sure this chapter came out the way I wanted it to, but hopefully the scenes inside Lucas' Magicant feel just as "real" as the scenes in the real world. As always, feel free to let me know what you think of the chapter. :D**

 **I'm also tired, so I am (for once) going to cut this AN short.**

 **Also, there's a bit of swearing this chapter. Ninten doesn't really say naughty words, but that doesn't stop him from thinking them.**

* * *

 **Review Response: Booping the Snoot:** Heh, Ana can do quite a lot of things quite well, and I'm sure she'd be happy to teach you her ways. :) If only she were real. D: And the corrupt politics are just something I feel compelled to include in every one of my stories. And it's so easy to fit in with the tone of the Mother series... anyways, thanks for leaving a review! :)

* * *

"Ah, great timing," Ana said as Ninten opened the door to Ness' dorm room. "I was just about to message you."

Ana stood up from her seat at Lucas' desk as Ninten and Ness walked into the room. Ninten handed her the extra burrito he had ordered from Chipotle. Ana's face lit up as she held the wrapped burrito in her hands.

"Awesome," she said. "Time to get some fuel in this tank. Did you two have a nice conversation while you were out?"

Ninten exchanged a glance with Ness. They had been out long enough that they couldn't really pretend that they hadn't done anything.

So as Ana ate her burrito and Ninten finished off his tacos, Ness explained that they had talked about wealth and Ninten's future as a PSI executive. Thankfully, Ness neglected to mention the part where Ninten talked about his lack of general happiness. Ana would probably worry over him like a mother if she knew how he felt, and there was nothing she could really do to help. Better not to get her involved.

"See, I _told_ you that I would totally ship the two of you," Ana said, grinning between bites. "This could be a big start."

"Or you've been watching too much anime," Ninten said.

"Or that," Ana said. After a moment, she frowned. "I'm curious. Is there a male version of a waifu?"

"Are you asking for you or for me?" Ninten said.

"I was thinking for me, but now I'm not really sure. So, is there one?"

Ninten sighed, turning over towards Ness. "I should probably clear up now that I'm not actually gay. Ana's just doing… Ana things."

"Hey, I could be implying that you're bi," Ana said, "And you still didn't answer my question."

"I don't know, Ann. What I _do_ know is that we should start talking about Lucas."

"Guys?" Ness said, his voice quiet.

"Yeah?" Ninten said, turning towards Ness.

Ness furrowed his brow, releasing a sigh after a moment of tense posture.

"There… may be a slight complication," Ness said.

"What happened?" Ana asked.

Ness sighed. "I just got a message. My mom said that she needs me home. Like, right now. She didn't tell me why."

"How far away is your house?" Ninten said.

"Two hour bus ride," Ness said. "Maybe a bit shorter, since I don't think there will be much traffic this late in the evening. But yeah, I can't necessarily swing by to see what's wrong and come back here."

Ana crossed her arms. "I feel like she should at least tell you why she wants you home."

"Yeah, she does this from time to time." Ness shrugged. "It's usually something pretty serious."

"That's no excuse for not telling you what happened," Ana said, frowning. "I don't think you should really be defending her right now. But I guess it's your life."

"Are you going home tonight?" Ninten said. "If your home situation isn't too desperate, you could head out tomorrow morning."

"Nah, that will just freak her out even more." Ness walked over to the oaken drawers underneath his bed. "It's hard to get her to communicate with me over the psyweb. I'll pass it on in person that she needs to let me know what's going on in these situations before calling me over."

Ness bent down and pulled open the drawers, pulling out already-unfolded clothes and stuffing them into his backpack.

"Do you need help packing?" Ninten said.

"And should we get out of your room after you're done?" Ana said.

Ness paused for a moment, and then sighed. "No on both counts, thanks. I'll be fine on my own, and Lucas might need your help. If you already hacked into his psyspace, you might as well go the whole way. The door automatically locks when you leave, so just make sure you don't leave anything in here when you head out tonight."

Ah, glorious dorm room doors. Almost every freshman went through the ritual of forgetting their keys and locking themselves out of their own room at some point. Just another reason to live off-campus, Ninten supposed.

"Thanks," Ana said. "Just let us know if you need any help, all right?"

Ness nodded and went back to packing. After a moment, Ness closed his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows, his body staying still while his eyes rolled around under his eyelids. He was probably on the psyweb looking something up, maybe ordering a ticket for the next bus to his home town.

"So," Ninten said, turning back to Ana. "Did you look around much in Lucas' psyspace?"

"Didn't get the chance." Ana frowned. "But I did pop in, and it's… weird."

"Weird how?"

"I should probably just show you."

"Uh." Ninten averted his gaze, staring at the picture of sunflowers on Lucas' wall instead. "You want me to go rifling through Lucas' sensitive information with you?"

"Short answer?" Ana said. "Yes."

Ninten sighed.

"Like I said, his psyspace is _weird_ ," Ana said, "Maybe you could help me decipher it. Besides, nobody needs to know that we went digging around in his files."

"Will you take no for an answer?"

"You're always allowed to say no." Ana looked Ninten in the eye. "But I could really use your help. I don't know if I'll be able to search his psyspace alone."

"I guess," Ninten said, hesitantly meeting Ana's gaze, "That I shouldn't abandon you now that we've come this far. I'm just afraid that we'll keep diving further into the rabbit hole just because we feel like we have to. We might not be able to find anything in Lucas' psyspace, and I don't want us doing anything even riskier if we come-up empty handed."

Ana paused. "Eh… I don't think that we're getting desperate yet. We still have his entire psyspace to search. But I promise that we'll back out if we hit a dead end. I just can't see there being _nothing_ in all the data of his psyspace."

Good enough. Ninten released a sigh of relief. Ana smiled back and walked over next to Lucas' desk before sitting down on the concrete floor and closing her eyes.

"You can join me when you're ready," Ana said. "There's a lot I have to show you."

Ninten took a deep breath. Might as well go now before his mind latched onto more reasons to be wary. Ninten walked over and sat down in the chair in front of Lucas' desk, staring at the tropical island landscape photograph on the wall above the desk.

He hoped that Lucas would forgive them both for this.

Ninten closed his eyes and reached out, feeling the warmth of the invisible orb hovering not a foot in front of him. Ninten reached out and connected his mind to the orb, and then went down the rabbit hole into Lucas' psyspace.

* * *

No grass. Sunflowers covering the ground instead. An orange sunset that bathed the clouds above in a pink light.

Ninten looked around inside this foreign world. The sunflower-covered ground stretched as far as he could see, until the earth faded away entirely into the sunset. Data files in the form of objects floated at waist height above the ground: the notebook and pencil probably stored his school notes, and the floating baseball bat likely held memories and records of some little league team he played on.

Two floating data files in particular caught Ninten's attention. The first was a waterfall in the distance, water crashing down over the rocks and spilling silently into the sunflower fields. The second was a set of islands resting on top of a sleeping dragon, each scale of the dragon and each tree on the islands crafted individually.

Creating sprites for data files took good time and effort, so most of Ninten's files took the form of cubes and spheres. It sometimes led to him forgetting which file was which, but for the most part he could navigate his own psyspace effectively. The actively moving waterfall and the detail of the dragon and islands must have taken hours' worth of effort to create. But when Ninten thought back at the landscape pictures plastered around Lucas' dorm room, the amount of effort he dedicated towards aesthetic started to make a bit more sense.

"Hey." Ninten whirled around to see Ana speaking to him. "Pretty crazy, huh? I hope we find Lucas soon, because this kid has a future in psyspace design."

So everyone younger than Ana was a "kid" now? Ninten opened his mouth to comment, but closed it when she pointed to a wooden sign standing up alongside the sunflowers. The sign read _Welcome to Lucas' Magicant_ engraved in messy black letters _._

"Simple but elegant," Ana said. "More psyspaces need a welcome sign. I'm telling you, this kid's going places."

"Wait." Ninten frowned. "Does that name sound familiar to you?"

Ana blinked.

"Magicant," Ninten said. "I swear I've heard that word before."

"It could be a language for mages to use in the criminal underworld," Ana said with a shrug. "Like a magic cant."

"Do you honestly think that?"

"Hey, it's a possibility." Ana cocked her head, looking back at the sign. "Well, if you can think of where you heard the word 'Magicant' before, I'd like to hear it. Maybe it's some psyspace lingo that I'm not aware of. Actually…"

Ana disappeared for a few moments before rematerializing in front of Ninten.

"Nope, no results when I search for 'Magicant' on the psyweb," Ana said. "So I don't think it's a common concept."

"Okay. It probably doesn't have anything to do with where Lucas is right now, anyway." Ninten scanned the area for floating objects that represented data files. "Do you have any idea where to look?"

"See that waterfall over there?" Ana said, pointing to the same waterfall that Ninten had deemed noteworthy earlier. "It's locked with something other than a mindscan or a password. I don't know how Lucas accesses the file, but I hope it doesn't have any information about where he went. Because I'm pretty sure I'm not getting in there."

"What about the other files?"

"I'm running a general scan using a few programs I imported," Ana said with a shrug. "Looking for keywords in the code. I want to find anything that looks like a diary or says anything about PSI testing."

Ninten furrowed his brow. "How can you know that scanning the code will help you? Lucas probably didn't program all of the files himself."

"Yeah, but when we use psyspace framework to create objects and store memories inside of our psyspace, the psyspace reads our minds and fills in the code for us. By looking at the code, I can tell what's inside each one of the data files."

A chill ran down Ninten's spine. The psyspace itself was _reading his mind_ whenever he created something new? It made sense in hindsight. Because really, how else would the psyspace know what to put inside the files he created? But the more Ninten was learning about the psyspace today, the more vulnerable it seemed.

It felt like society was building its information networks on faultlines. The psyspace kept adding more and more features, building up to the skies instead of investing in a solid foundation, and it could all come crashing down with a single push.

A single push… from someone competent with hacking and coding like Ana.

"Like… you see that dragon with the islands on top of it?" Ana said. "The code tells me that it's a V-game."

"Really."

"Yeah, I'd be able to see more, but most of the code's hidden because of copyrights. So if there were theoretically something about his whereabouts hidden in the V-game, I wouldn't be able to tell."

Ninten walked over and inspected the sleeping dragon. The sprite itself was larger than Ninten, and each of the dragon's black scales sparkled under the light of the sun. The islands on top were filled with tiny trees, miniature mountains, and even had a model city with signs of pollution and smog.

"If the V-game is as detailed as the sprite, I'm surprised I haven't heard of it before," Ninten said. "Although I'm guessing you have?"

"Nope. This is the first time I've seen it."

Ninten raised an eyebrow. Was Ana joking?

"You do know there are a lot of V-games out there, right?" Ana said. "Besides, this game doesn't even get hits on the psyweb. I don't know how Lucas got his hands on it. He never struck me as the gamer type."

"So, uh… did he pick this game up at the black market, or what?"

"That's what I was wondering," Ana said, walking next to Ninten and inspecting the dragon. "I don't know how much you remember Lucas, but I'm pretty sure he's too wholesome for illegal V-games. Although he did disappear without any signs, so I guess you never know…"

"Do you think it would give us a better idea of the kind of person Lucas is if we tried to play the game?" Ninten said. "I mean, it's a stretch to assume that a V-game will lead us to where Lucas went, but I don't have any better ideas right now."

Besides, the game itself seemed noteworthy due to its oddness alone. For Ana not to know of it was odd enough, and to get no hits at all on the psyweb… Well, for a game whose sprite had so much detail, keeping it hidden didn't make much sense. Even illegal games usually yielded results when searched. And no-name black market games probably wouldn't have as much detail about this one. Except for illegal porno games, Ninten supposed. He imagined that they were highly detailed in… specific ways that were thankfully absent from the dragon-and-islands sprite.

"I'll be monitoring my scans, so if you think this is your best chance of stumbling upon something about Lucas…" Ana gestured towards the dragon, "Go for it. Just make sure to return to the real world if it looks like a virus, all right?"

Ninten nodded and walked over to the dragon-and-islands sprite. He placed a hand on the dragon's head, which had a solitary island covered with miniature palm trees on top of it.

A strange V-game in a strange psyspace that had a strange name which Ninten _swore_ he had heard before. He couldn't quite put a finger on it, but something about this whole mess didn't feel _right_. What if he was in the process of stumbling upon something he wasn't supposed to see?

Ninten released a sigh. He was overthinking this. Lucas' psyspace and this game were strange, and Lucas' unprompted disappearance still nagged Ninten's mind, but it didn't have to be tied together in some sort of plot. There were a thousand possible explanations for Lucas' oddly detailed psyspace, the name "Magicant," everything. And maybe Ninten could find some of them by entering this game.

Ninten closed his eyes and transferred his mind into the dragon-and-islands V-game.

* * *

A world of darkness. Ninten hadn't been placed inside an avatar yet, so his consciousness just sort of… floated around. After about a minute, Ninten started to worry about the loading time. What if this game _was_ a virus?

 _THE YEAR IS 20XX. WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS THE LAST REMNANT OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION._

Ninten would have yelped if he had a body inside the game. The words lingered, giant white letters that trembled in place. After a few moments, the letters broke off into millions of white dots and faded away into the darkness.

 _THE PEOPLE YOU WILL MEET DO NOT KNOW WHY THE REST OF THE WORLD WAS DESTROYED, OR EVEN HOW. THEY NEVER KNEW THAT A REAL "WORLD" EVEN EXISTED._

Uh… when was the game going to give Ninten a character to control?

 _THE NOWHERE ISLANDS ARE THE ONLY OASIS IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INFINITE DESERT._

 _AND THEY ARE ABOUT TO BE DESTROYED._

Well, that's pleasant. How did Lucas even get his hands on this game?

 _WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS REAL. IT IS THE FUTURE._

 _AND IT IS THE PAST._

 _YOU WILL SEE THE SAME TRAGEDIES REPEAT THEMSELVES AGAIN AND AGAIN._

 _YOU WILL COME ACROSS PEOPLE WHO ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT THE CYCLE OF SUFFERING._

 _YOU ARE THEIR ONLY HOPE._

 _SAVE ONE PERSON, AND BREAK THE CYCLE._

 _THAT IS YOUR QUEST._

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _WELCOME TO THE NOWHERE ISLANDS._

* * *

Once he entered the game, Ninten smelled the smoke before he registered anything else. He coughed, reminding himself that his asthma didn't apply inside a V-game. Logically, he had nothing to fear.

But the smoke inside of his nose and down deep in his lungs felt so _real._ It took all of Ninten's willpower not to freak the _fuck_ out.

Time to take a deep-

Wait. Fuck. Don't take a deep breath when there's smoke. Ninten crouched down near the dirt ground to avoid the rising smoke and tried to take in his surroundings with a calculated mind.

First of all, he was still himself. Many V-games would put the player in some sort of distinct avatar character, but this evidently wasn't one of them. He tried to pause the game in his mind so that he could get a quick breather, but nothing happened.

Great. One of those games that tried to be as real-life as possible. If Ninten wanted real life, he would just live it _without_ a stupid game.

Keep calm, Ninten. He looked around at his environment. He was inside a forest, and the fire that was creating the smoke had spread to the crowns of the pine trees. Ninten grimaced. Many trees were actually resistant to low fires around their trunks, but fragile leaves and pine needles wouldn't stand a chance.

The fire spread from tree crown to tree crown. The forest was packed densely enough that each tree provided a point for the fire to spread to two or three other trees.

Ninten shook his head. It was looking like the whole damn forest might burn down.

So what could he do about this? Ninten closed his eyes and cycled through his list of abilities. Okay, so he was a psychic in this V-game as well. He could use Lifeup, Shield, Hypnosis, Healing… wait, how was Healing different from Lifeup? Oh, and there was also Super Healing. Not to mention that _regular_ healing had different levels notated by Greek letters.

Well, it didn't look like there was anything in his list of abilities that would let him put out a forest fire. Not that there really _should_ be, but Ana had told him that psychics in V-games tended to use elemental attacks. The idea of using PSI to summon water or ice to put out a fire in real life was absurd, but there was a reason why V-games weren't real life.

Over the sounds of cackling wildfire, Ninten heard a bone-chilling roar in the distance.

Seriously, why did people _like_ games as stressful as this one? Ninten sighed and took off towards the sound of danger, just like any _real_ gamer would do.

After just a few steps, a woman and two boys leapt out from the foliage. The woman's left arm was badly burned, but she managed to keep a grip on the boys. She looked up at Ninten, and the fire cackling in the background matched the determination in her eyes.

"I've never seen you before," the woman said. "But we all need to get out of here, right? You take my sons and head to Tazmily, and I'll distract the drago."

Drago? Ninten opened his mouth to respond when his gaze passed over Hinawa's sons, and he inadvertently studied them in detail for the first time. They were twins, he saw, both with hair curled up in a cowlick and the same blue eyes. The only way Ninten could tell them apart was by their hair color. The redhead made an attempt to stand up straight and puff up his chest, while the blonde clung to his mother's dress.

Wait. Ninten took another look at the blonde.

What the _fuck._

"Lucas?" he said.

The woman's eyes narrowed. "You know my son?"

Poor Lucas looked bewildered, staring back and forth between his mother and Ninten. Of course, the Lucas inside this V-game wouldn't know Ninten. But why was Lucas inside of this game in the first place?

Act now, think later.

"Listen," Ninten said, turning back towards the woman. "I can hold off the… dragon?"

"You haven't heard of a drago before?" The woman's eyes widened. "Where are you from? No, don't answer that. There's no time. Please, you have to take my children."

The woman walked forward, holding Lucas' hand with her right and her other son's hand with her left. She pushed her sons' hands forward towards Ninten, gesturing for him to take them.

"I'm serious," Ninten said. "I can hold off this drago thing. I promise."

The woman gritted her teeth and looked back in the direction of the roar.

"We don't have the time for this," she said. "Go, before the drago kills us all."

Ninten realized that she wasn't trying to hold off the Drago because she thought she was more competent than he was. She had given up hope of outrunning the drago, and she was prepared to sacrifice herself so that the rest of them could escape.

 _You will come across people doomed to repeat the cycle of suffering…_

The stiffness in the woman's pose, the pleading in her eyes... for her, this all so _real._ And for Ninten, it didn't feel like a game. He _would_ save this woman and her children, no matter the cost. He would break the cycle of suffering right here and now.

And he was prepared to fight whatever a "Drago" was in order to keep this woman and her family safe. Her grit and the love for her children was real enough to fight for.

"No," Ninten said. "I can distract the Drago and live."

He reached out towards the woman's burned arm. She recoiled back.

"What are you doin-"

"Healing," Ninten said.

The burn disappeared from the woman's arm. She felt over her arm with her right hand and shrugged. When she looked up at Ninten again, she hesitated.

"That won't help you if the drago gores you," she said reluctantly. "But if you're really that confident you can-"

"I am. I don't even know where Tazmily is. Keep your sons safe, and we'll meet up later."

The woman grabbed Ninten's wrist and stared into his eyes with her iron gaze.

"Promise me you won't get yourself killed trying to stall a few extra seconds," she said.

"I promise."

The woman narrowed her eyes and nodded. Yet despite her hesitance to let Ninten go, she backed away and grabbed onto her son's arms. When she looked back up at Ninten again, he saw respect in her eyes, mixed with a glint of sadness. She nodded thanks and took off running away from the sound of the roar.

She still thought that Ninten was laying down his life just to keep her safe. She didn't know that Ninten, with his arsenal of PSI, had a real chance of distracting the Drago long enough so that he could get away. He vowed then that he would survive for both of them, and that he would meet up with the woman back at Tazmily. He wanted to see her smile once she knew that everyone was safe. He wanted to watch Lucas and his brother play together once the cycle of suffering had been broken.

 _You are their only hope._

Ninten took in one last breath, trying to ignore the smoke, before continuing in the direction towards where the roar had come from.

* * *

It didn't take Ninten long before he heard the sounds of stomping. And not long after that, the sound of a tree falling.

Ninten should really turn back, shouldn't he?

As he was starting to seriously consider running away and hoping that the Drago would chase him rather than Lucas' family, he saw what at first glance looked like a cyborg t-rex ram through a pair of trees and emerge in front of Ninten. It let out the same roar that Ninten had heard earlier.

So this was the Drago. Its legs and the lower part of its jaw had been replaced by steel features, but replaced by whom? There was so much that Ninten didn't understand about this world.

But he didn't need to understand. He only needed to save Lucas' family, which would hopefully break the cycle of suffering.

"Quick up," Ninten muttered, tensing his leg muscles.

The Drago paused, and for a brief moment the mecha-lizard and Ninten stared at each other in a standstill. Ninten waited for the Mecha-Drago to make a move, and the cyborg reptile only stared at Ninten with bloodlust in its eyes. The standoff only lasted a moment, but it felt like an eternity.

Ninten was the first one to break the impasse.

He darted forward, and then leapt to the side as the Drago took an earth-shaking step forward to match. Ninten ran between a gap in the trees and circled around to the drago's backside. He didn't need to fight this thing, and he was pretty sure that he couldn't possibly kill it even if he tried. He just needed to lead the Mecha-Drago away from Lucas's family long enough for them to make it to Tazmily safely.

As Ninten tried to dance around the Drago, the reptile swung its metal-plated tail around in an arc, slicing through trees with ease before slamming its tail into Ninten.

Ninten's vision went red with pain. He felt the vague sensation that he had landed somewhere and his face was in the dirt. Whose brilliant idea had it been to add in fully realistic pain sensations into this V-game? Still, at least he was alive. This V-game must have decked him out with some pretty sweet natural abilities, because he was almost certain that a razor sharp 100 pound tail capable of slicing through trees would kill any regular human being.

It was still completely unfair that the game was making him fight against a cyborg dinosaur, though.

"Lifeup," Ninten managed to get out.

Sensation returned to Ninten's body a moment later, and the red in his vision faded away, leaving only a few spots behind. Ninten did indeed have his face planted in the dirt, and he hopped up to hear another ear-piercing roar from the Drago.

He felt the quaking of the ground as the Drago walked closer, and the sound of the stomps grew nearer. Ninten let out a high-pitched yelp and sprinted away. He tried to remember which direction was away from Lucas' family, but at this point he was having difficulty caring about anything other than putting as much distance between him and the Drago as possible.

The pounding steps grew closer.

Fuck fuck _fuck._ Ninten needed to run faster.

"Quick up," he said between gulps of smoky air.

No increase in speed. He supposed that the speed-boosting ability was still active from when he used it earlier, which was a troubling thought. He assumed that he had been running this fast on adrenaline alone.

The pounding steps grew closer.

Ninten started to get lightheaded. He was breathing in too much smoke, but he couldn't stop now.

The pounding steps grew closer.

Must keep going. No other option. Please please please…

The pounding steps grew closer.

Black dots appeared in Ninten's vision. He didn't have much left in him.

The pounding steps grew closer.

Ninten tripped over a tree root and performed a full face-plant into the soft dirt. The force of impact knocked the air out of him, and for a moment his mind was left groping for oxygen. He couldn't think about getting up. He couldn't think about running away. He needed air.

He should-

Air.

He needed to-

Air.

He couldn't let himself-

Air!

After a moment, Ninten returned to his senses and the mindless panic fled. He reminded himself again that he did _not_ have asthma here. Ninten needed to get up and worry about the Drag-

A roar sounded from right behind Ninten, and he hopped to his feet out of surprise more than fear.

The next moment, something sharp dug into Ninten's back, and the point of impact blossomed in pain. Ninten thought that he let out a scream, but the pain drowned out all of his senses.

Okay, Ninten. Don't panic. Just need some healing before the Drago attacks again.

As Ninten opened his mouth to use his Lifeup ability, another sharp object dug into his back.

The world went black.

* * *

 _GAME OVER._

Ninten's consciousness floated in the darkness, same as when he entered the V-game. He couldn't control anything as the words appeared in front of him and dispersed into millions of white dots a moment later.

 _DUE TO YOUR BRAVERY, THE DRAGO WAS DISTRACTED LONG ENOUGH FOR HINAWA, LUCAS, AND CLAUS TO SURVIVE._

Hinawa? Must be the mother. Claus, despite being spelled with a "C," sounded like a German name, and Hinawa a Japanese one. And of course, Lucas was a perfectly common name in America. Where did these people fit in?

 _IF HINAWA HAD DISTRACTED THE DRAGO, SHE WOULD SURELY HAVE DIED IN YOUR PLACE._

Yeah, obviously.

 _IN YOUR SACRIFICE, YOU PREVENTED HINAWA'S DEATH, ALONG WITH CLAUS' ATTEMPT AT VENGEANCE AND LUCAS' EMOTIONAL BURDEN._

Wait, so had he actually won by sacrificing himself?

 _HOWEVER, HINAWA'S LIFE IS NOT ENOUGH TO STOP THE CYCLE OF SUFFERING._

Huh? Didn't Ninten only need to save one person?

 _SHE WAS NOT THE ONE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAVE._

Ninten needed to save a _specific_ person?

 _PLEASE… COME BACK WHEN YOU WISH TO EXPLORE MORE OF THE NOWHERE ISLANDS._

 _I'LL BE WAITING._


	5. Morbid Thoughts and Time Travel

**Hello, everyone. :) I'm here again for another chapter... and this one is the shortest one of the story so far. I don't know how all these words manage to end up on the page, but I decided to cut this chapter off at a reasonable length. Just be aware that this chapter doesn't necessarily end on the most conclusive note.**

 **But yeah, have a great day. :)**

* * *

 **Review response: booping the snoot:** So far, there hasn't been too much of a real point to the game... it just looks suspicious to Ninten and Ana. Also, I'm not sure if I properly conveyed that the game itself is just a single file within Lucas' Magicant. The Magicant is kind of like an entire computer and the game is just something that Lucas has on there. But it's a super sketchy game. Imagine if a full HD game like Super Mario Odyssey was found on my computer with me as a character and no references on the internet and that's about what Ninten and Ana are dealing with (and they'll discuss this more during the chapter). I didn't know that Lucas was a Latin name, but I think for someone like Ninten it still falls under the category of "normal" whereas Hinawa and Claus sound kinda foreign to a lot of Americans.

And we'll see about Ness. :) Thanks for reviewing again!

* * *

Ninten opened his eyes with a yelp. He looked around at Lucas' dorm room, his eyes inadvertently locking with Ness' after a moment.

"What happened?" Ness said, dropping his backpack on the floor. "Is everything all right?"

Shirts and pants spilled out of Ness' open backpack. Ninten took a moment to take a deep breath and collect himself.

"Ninten." He turned around to see Ana looking up at him from the floor. "What did you find in that V-game?"

"Wait." Ness frowned. "You were playing a V-game?"

"A suspicious one," Ninten said. "Man oh _man,_ I don't know what to think about what just happened."

"Why don't you tell us?" Ana said. "Maybe we can help you reason through your experiences."

Ninten sighed. He supposed that three minds were better than one.

"Just promise you won't think I'm crazy for what I saw inside of the game."

"Hey, it's a V-game," Ness said with a shrug. "Anything can happen. I'm interested to hear what you saw, and I'm expecting it to be a little crazy."

Ninten spent the next few minutes explaining what happened in the V-game. He led off by talking about the shaking white letters that described the Nowhere Islands before detailing his encounter with Hinawa and the Drago.

"And this was all lifelike?" Ana said, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah. I think so."

"Meaning that all of the environments were just as detailed as in real life? The dialogue felt fluid?"

"I was almost convinced by the end that Hinawa and her family were real."

"Well, we know that Lucas _is_ real," Ness said. "To find him as a character in a V-game seems odd."

"I'd describe it more along the lines of batshit fucking crazy," Ana said. "Who in their right mind would program such a detailed game and never release it on the psyweb?"

"Lucas, maybe," Ness said.

"How much do you know about game design?" Ana said.

"I took a class in high school." Ness shrugged. "I'm not an expert."

"Looking back, I don't think Lucas could have made something so detailed alone," Ninten said. "Ann, do you think an entire team of developers helped make the game?"

"Oh," Ness said. "It would be strange if a bunch of people cooperated on a game and never released it. Lucas never even struck me as a gamer or a programmer, either."

"The thing is, I'm not sure what to think," Ana said. "I'm not an expert in game design either, but I do play a lot of V-games. Even the biggest-budget games aren't as lifelike as what you're describing."

"So…?" Ninten said, looking back and forth between Ana and Ness.

"Well, I need to go soon," Ness said, "So I guess this is just another weird coincidence to add to my list."

"It's true that just because we encountered a bunch of weird shit doesn't mean it's all connected," Ana said, "But it's a little suspicious."

"Then I'm glad we have you two on the case," Ness said. "I'm sorry that I can't be more helpful, but I have no idea what any of this could mean and I do need to get going."

"Maybe we can talk just the two of us back in Lucas' Magican-err, psyspace," Ninten told Ana. "I have no idea what the game could mean, either, but I think we would be better off looking through it again."

"Sure," Ana said. Turning to Ness, "One last thing. Do you know if Lucas has a brother named Claus and if his mother is actually named Hinawa or not?"

Ness frowned. "His dad was the one to help him unpack at the beginning of the year. He called himself Flint. I don't know if that was his actual name or not, but I didn't want to ask after just meeting him. Lucas never mentioned his mother or siblings, and I never really asked. I don't think he knows about Tra-uh, about my own sister, so it wouldn't surprise me if he had a brother."

"Okay." Ana nodded to herself. "I guess we should head back into Lucas' psyspace, then. I can run a scan to see if he has any files on his family."

A shiver ran down Ninten's spine. He wanted to object, but if the characters in the V-game were real, maybe Ana would be able to contact them and have them help search for Lucas.

"All right," Ninten said. "Back into Lucas' Magicant we go."

* * *

Back inside the sunflower fields of Lucas' Magicant, Ana walked over and examined the dragon-and-islands sprite of the Nowhere Islands V-game. This time, the sky inside Lucas' psyspace was a light green, mixing with threads of soft pink in the distance. If there was one thing Ninten had learned about Lucas so far, it was that Lucas really did pay attention to aesthetic. Ninten had only been vaguely aware that the default sky color could even be changed, let alone cycled through different color patterns.

"So," Ana said, "I gave my scan a quick look. I found a few references to a 'Claus,' and in the files he looks similar to how you described Lucas' brother in the V-game. Red hair instead of blond, and a more confident posture overall. I'd say it's quite likely that Claus is Lucas' twin brother in real life as well."

"Did he leave the contact info of anyone he knows?" Ninten said. "Ness said that Lucas unpacked and moved into his dorm room with his father. If we know where to find Flint or even Claus on the psyweb, we might be able to ask if they have any ideas as to where Lucas went."

Ana frowned. "Not sure how well that would go over. As far as they're concerned, we're strangers. Besides, I assume that the school has already contacted Lucas' family about his disappearance."

Well, given how George didn't want any information about Lucas vanishing to get out, Ninten wasn't sure if he would have even told Flint about his missing son. Ninten opened his mouth, but noticed a dark look on Ana's face and kept quiet.

"This is all so confusing," Ana said, practically glaring at the dragon-and-islands sprite. "People in this age aren't really supposed to go missing anymore. Ninten, do you mind if I share some of my worries out loud?"

"Uh… sure. I'm all ears."

Ana sighed, turning back towards Ninten and sitting down in the sunflower fields. While sitting, the sunflowers blocked all sight of her below the neck. Ana closed her eyes and taking a deep breath, and when she reopened her eyes she needed to bat away a sunflower in front of her face so that she could see Ninten.

"Ness is right that Lucas didn't really seem the type to run away by his own choice. I remember asking him about the PSI test last week, and he told me that he wouldn't mind failing and going through the university as a regular student. And maybe he was lying, but he just always seemed so… in control of himself. He would plan out every word before speaking to me and when I caught a glimpse of his planner I saw that he scheduled in specific chunks of time for lunch and dinner. Talk about dedicated."

Ninten nodded along, but he wasn't convinced. He thought it quite possible that Lucas would be the sort of person to break his composure completely before he let it bend. Maybe Lucas _needed_ to be so thoughtful and organized because he was barely managing to hold his life together in the first place. If that were true, and if something like failing a PSI test had set him off, Ness could see Lucas losing control completely.

"But I do want to believe that Lucas ran away on his own," Ana said. "I want to believe that he was covering up his dark side ever since I had known him and he finally just cracked. But honestly, I don't believe it."

"I mean, there's always a chance," Ninten said. "Although I do see why it would be concerning if someone else played a role in Lucas' disappearance."

"I…" Ana paused. "I don't think you understand."

"Hmm?"

"Let's say Lucas wants to get back to campus," Ana said. "Maybe he got lost. Maybe someone kidnapped him. Maybe he disappeared to deal with family issues like Ness did and now he's ready to come back. Can't you think of one tool he has to let everyone know he's okay?"

The psyweb. Of _course._

"Oh."

"If anything bad happened to Lucas, someone should have heard _something_ by now," Ana said. "But the university's updating Lucas' missing status every ten minutes or so, and they haven't heard anything from him."

"Wait." A chill ran down Ninten's spine. "Do you think…?"

Ana stood up, drawing a shaky breath. She hesitated for a moment, and then looked Ninten straight in the eye. Instead of her usual impishness, Ninten saw sheer terror in the depths of her pupils.

"The way I see it," Ana said, "Is that there are two different scenarios. Either Lucas is missing and wants to stay missing, or he's _dead._ "

Even though Ninten was expecting the words, he froze at the harshness of Ana's tone. The idea that someone in this day in age could be kidnapped from a college campus and quietly killed was almost unthinkable. Sure, there were still bad people out there, but college was supposed to be safe. Most people were friendly, and Ninten could always just back away from the ones who weren't.

Just like that, Ninten's illusion had been broken. He wasn't safe, Ana wasn't safe, Ness wasn't safe, and Lucas sure as _psych_ wasn't safe. What kinds of monsters were lurking in the shadows even now?

And suddenly, it made more sense why Ana got upset when Ness had mentioned that Lucas wasn't the type to run away on his own. She had probably been thinking about the possibility of Lucas' death since Ninten had told her about his disappearance. Ninten was glad that he had chosen someone as perceptive as Ana to help him find Lucas.

"Wait," Ninten said. "This scan of yours. You're not trying to figure out where he went. You're trying to figure out if someone _murdered_ him."

Ana released a sigh. "The majority of murders are committed by someone the victim knows. If someone decided to kill Lucas, I want to figure out who they were and why they did it. Of course, I'm hoping that Lucas is alive and well and that I'll find a clue that will lead me to his location, but I'm not really expecting him to have a file labeled 'this is where I go and hide when I completely lose my shit'."

"You could have told me," Ninten said.

Ana threw her arms up in the air. "I'm telling you now, aren't I? I just didn't want you to worry about what at the time was just an in suspicion. But the Nowhere Islands V-game is too strange to pass by. Lucas couldn't have made it by himself. And while I can't see the code inside the V-game, I _can_ see the file size. It's far too small for the game you're describing."

"I swear, I'm telling the truth." Ninten frowned. "I almost forgot I was inside a game. Everything felt so _real._ Honestly, it was a pretty jarring experience."

"No, I believe you," Ana said. "Which means that the only way to run such a complicated game with such a small file is to run it somewhere else and have this file output the images like a movie."

"Huh?"

"The game isn't really _playing_ from that file," Ana said. "Like I said, it's running somewhere else. All of the characters and environments, as well as their reactions to what you do, must be stored in a much larger file in a different location. That file then transmits the data to _this_ little bugger here," Ana gestured towards the dragon-and-islands sprite, "Which then relays the information to you."

"That sounds complicated. Why would anyone do that?"

"So that if a hacker broke into the game, they wouldn't find anything about the game itself," Ana said. "Whoever made the Nowhere Islands game must want pretty badly to keep it a secret."

"And do you think that Lucas was involved with these people?"

"They put him in the game, didn't they? I don't know what they were trying to do with the game, but everything about it seems shady and then Lucas disappears without a trace."

Ninten didn't know what he would do without Ana. Maybe she should have been the one adopted into George's family instead of him.

"I should go back in," Ninten said. "I don't think I'm useful out here in the open psyspace. You're running scans and deducing information like a madwoman, and I think you should keep doing that."

Ana waved a hand dismissively. "This is still just a hunch. Don't take my words for fact until you see the hard data."

"But still. I can keep exploring the Nowhere Islands inside of the V-game while you search for clues in the rest of the psyspace. If the people who made this game are connected to Lucas' disappearance, I might be able to gather some information about them by playing the game. And this is one area where I might be able to perform as well as you."

The last sentence came out hollow, and Ninten grimaced. A dedicated gamer like Ana could probably trek through the Nowhere Islands far more successfully than Ninten. But then again, the Nowhere Islands V-game was odd enough that maybe Ana would be just as lost as he was inside the game.

Ana walked over to Ninten, brushing aside sunflowers as she reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "You did look like you were waking up from a nightmare after coming out of that game. If you want, I could go instead."

Ninten shook his head. "This is the only way that I'll be useful, Ann. Thanks for offering, but I think you're needed out here."

Ana smiled and nodded, taking her hand off of Ninten's shoulder.

"All right," she said. "I won't try to hold you back. Stay alert in there, all right? There's no shame in closing the game if it gives you another scare."

"I'll be fine, Ann. This time, I swear I'll come back with info about Lucas."

"Don't make promises that rely on forces outside of your control. There could be nothing to that game."

"I don't think so." Ninten walked forward towards the dragon-and-islands sprite, placing a hand on the dragon's head and feeling over the smooth scales. "There's so much out of place about the Nowhere Islands. I'm sure they hide some sort of secret. And I'll do my best to uncover that secret, Ann. I'll explore every inch of the game if I have to."

Ana walked next to Ninten, placed her hand on top of his on the dragon's head, and grinned.

"Then I won't keep you waiting, then. Just remember that we're a team. I have your back if anything goes wrong."

"Always," Ninten said, and then channeled his mind into the V-game.

* * *

 _THE YEAR IS 20XX. WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS THE LAST REMNANT OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION._

The words appeared once more, floating in the same empty space in front of his avatar-less consciousness.

 _THE PEOPLE YOU WILL MEET DO NOT KNOW WHY THE REST OF THE WORLD WAS DESTROYED, OR EVEN HOW. THEY NEVER KNEW THAT A REAL "WORLD" EVEN EXISTED._

 _THE NOWHERE ISLANDS ARE THE ONLY OASIS IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INFINITE DESERT._

 _AND THEY ARE ABOUT TO BE DESTROYED._

 _WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS REAL. IT IS THE FUTURE._

 _AND IT IS THE PAST._

 _YOU WILL SEE THE SAME TRAGEDIES REPEAT THEMSELVES AGAIN AND AGAIN._

 _YOU WILL COME ACROSS PEOPLE WHO ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT THE CYCLE OF SUFFERING._

 _YOU ARE THEIR ONLY HOPE._

 _SAVE ONE PERSON, AND BREAK THE CYCLE._

 _THAT IS YOUR QUEST._

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _WELCOME TO THE NOWHERE ISLANDS._

* * *

Same words, same smoke once he entered the world of the Nowhere Islands. Ninten stuffed a sleeve in his mouth to keep from coughing and looked around at the same burning forest, fire blossoming in the sky as it spread from tree crown to tree crown.

 _NEW POWER GRANTED: 4_ _TH_ _-DIMENSION SLIP._

Instead of appearing in front of Ninten, the words echoed inside of his mind. Ninten tried to pause the game before remembering that this game lacked pause functionality, likely in an attempt to feel more realistic. Ninten closed his eyes and his list of PSI abilities appeared as an image in the back of his mind. His new power, 4th-D slip, rested at the bottom of the list.

The fourth dimension was time, right? So using his new ability, it seemed like he could slip through time itself. Maybe he could go back and prevent the forest fire from happening in the first place. Would that be enough to break the cycle of suffering?

Ninten's thought process was interrupted by the sound of the Drago's roar. He opened his eyes to see Hinawa, Lucas, and Claus jumping out from a gap between the trees. Hinawa had the same iron expression and the same burn on her left arm. Ninten accidentally locked eyes with her, and he swore under his breath.

"Stranger," Hinawa said. "Please, take my children to Tazmily."

She gripped Lucas' and Claus' wrists in her hands, and she shoved her sons forward before casting a worried glance behind her.

"I…" Ninten fumbled for the right words.

"Please." Hinawa looked back at him, her eyes desperate. "It's going to kill _all_ of us if you don't take my sons and run away right this second."

Ninten couldn't hope to fight a Drago. But maybe he could go back in time and warn the townspeople about the threat to come.

" _Please,_ " Hinawa said. "Take my sons and go!"

Hinawa's concerned expression twisted into a sneer. Ninten could almost hear the words coming off her lips. She looked like she wanted to ask why Ninten was hesitating, and why he couldn't see that she was sacrificing herself so that the rest of them might live. Ninten recoiled away as Hinawa shoved Lucas and Claus towards him.

For such a realistic game, the Nowhere Islands was forcing Ninten to make choices he had never encountered in real life.

"I'm sorry," Ninten said.

"Why?" Hinawa released her grip on Lucas and Claus. "What are you sorry for?"

"4th-D slip," Ninten said, focusing his mind to use the ability.

"No." Hinawa's eyes widened as the world started to blur around Ninten. "Don't you dare-"

Hinawa disappeared before she could finish her sentence, along with Lucas, Claus, and the fire that had brought them all together.

* * *

Ninten found himself standing in the same forest of pine and cedar trees. But instead of a raging wildfire and a Drago's roar, Ninten found himself confronted by silence. Standing here in the middle of the forest, the whole world felt… still. Sunlight filtered in through pine needles and illuminated small patches of dirt, appearing calm next to the memory of a blooming wildfire.

Finally, a sparrow chirped to break the silence. A moment later, Ninten heard a scuffle of wings behind him, and looked up to see birds colored bright red and orange flying off into the sky, looking like jewels on a blue backdrop.

When Ninten turned around, he found himself standing face to face with a boy wearing what looked like a rebel pilot's helmet from Star Wars. Only instead of a glass screen protecting the eyes, this helmet's screen blocked Ninten's view of the boy's face almost entirely. Lips perfectly flat in neither a smile nor a frown were all that Ninten could see of the boy's expression.

"Please tell me that not everyone here is like you," Ninten said.

The boy smirked, and then sat down on the dirt floor. "It's been a while since I've met a player."

"A…" Ninten frowned. "Wait, you know who I am?"

"It was admirable what you did to protect Hinawa," The boy said. "Admirable and foolish. What made you think you could take on a Drago?"

"Listen, I didn't even know what a Drago _was_ before today. And how do you know who I am?"

The boy sighed. "What if your life kept flashing before your eyes? And each time you tried to change it, you only messed up a different part of your life in ways you never thought could be possible?"

"You're definitely ignoring me and I want my questions answered."

"Fine." The boy stood up and dusted off his pants. "I know you're a player because I've been looking through each thread of time, and I know every single person on these islands. Which isn't to say that they know me. But I don't know you, and you can travel through time like I can. That makes you a player."

"You know," Ninten said, "Where I come from, that word means something different."

The boy frowned in confusion, and shook his head after a moment. "I just need to find out what you're doing here. It's been boring here without any players."

"Are _you_ a player?" Ninten asked.

"No. But I'm also not like the other people here." The boy smirked. "Think of me as a… moderator."

"Well, you're not doing great at keeping things moderate," Ninten said. "A fire's going to break out in… well, in however much time I traveled backwards, I suppose. Are you going to do anything to stop it?"

The boy waved a hand dismissively. "You only slipped a few days out of time. And if I stopped the fire, another one would start in a few more days."

So that must mean that there was someone or something _causing_ the fires, and would continue to start fires until the whole forest was engulfed in flames. If Ninten could figure out who or what was starting the fires, maybe he could stop them for good. Would that be enough to break the cycle of suffering?

Ninten took a moment to remind himself that he was here to gather information on the people who made this game. The boy in front of him might be a good place to start.

"What's your name?" Ninten asked.

"I'm not allowed to have one. Call me the Masked Man, if you must." The boy looked up at the blazing sun in the sky. "And you seem a lot smarter than the last player. Maybe I should just stop talking before I give away more information than I want to."

"No, I want to ask you more quest-"

"I'll give you a map that you can access while scrolling through your list of powers," The Masked Man said. "Feel free to explore the Nowhere Islands a bit. That's what they're here for. 4th-D slip."

Ninten reached out to try and halt the Masked Man, but after a moment the boy vanished from sight.

Strange. The Masked Man himself seemed to be standing outside the simulation of the Nowhere Islands, acting as an observer to all the tragedies taking place. He had implied that even after messing with several different timelines, he couldn't find a way to save the Nowhere Islands. What could Ninten do in a few playthroughs that the Masked Man hadn't already tried?

Ninten sighed and closed his eyes, taking a look at the image of the map that popped up inside of his inner consciousness. Like any good V-game, the map showed where Ninten was and which direction he was facing. In this case, he was located in the middle of the Sunshine forest. To the north lay a set of cliffs and a building labeled "Alec's house," while Tazmily Village was located to the south.

Well, next time Hinawa asked Ninten to take Lucas and Claus to Tazmily, he would at least know where it was.

But if Hinawa had been running away from Alec's house and towards Tazmily, the fire had probably started somewhere near Alec's house. Or maybe Dragos were just more common up in the northern cliffs. Either way, he would be more likely to find clues about the fire and the Mecha-Drago near Alec's house.

And maybe this time, Ninten could finally break the cycle of suffering.


	6. Real and Fake

**Hey, everyone. I think that this might be where the story starts to pick up, so hopefully I haven't bored you all to sleep with the intro yet. The second part of Ninten's trip into the Nowhere Islands makes up the entire chapter, and I sure am glad that I didn't try to squeeze this chapter and the last one all into a single chapter.**

 **And it's late, so I don't have much else to talk about. I've been thinking a lot about the nature of reality in a digital world, and I think it carries over to PSI as well. In Earthbound games, Magicant is undeniably real and its battles give exp just like any other location, and yet it exists entirely within a mind. The memories and enemies are virtual, and yet they are viewed as being real.**

 **I think this chapter tries to explore some of the same stuff.**

* * *

After heading north through the Sunshine forest and up the slopes of Mt. Oriander, Ninten spotted a small log cabin by the cliff side. He trudged up the rock-strewn road, breathing heavily as he neared the house. A gust of wind whipped by, forcing Ninten to shield his eyes with his hand.

All this time, he hadn't encountered anyone. He started to get a sense for why this place was called the Nowhere Islands. Ninten knew that the thrill of nature was almost a spiritual experience for some people, but he was glad to see at least a log cabin out in the wilderness.

As Ninten approached the log house, he heard the sounds of children playing further along the cliff side. Ninten shrugged to himself and walked past the house towards the sound of children. After a couple more minutes of walking down the rocks, Ninten spotted Lucas and Claus playing next to a pair of massive green Dragos.

 _Oh no._

Ninten scurried down the mountainside, attracting the attention of Lucas and Claus. Lucas shied away, hiding behind his twin brother. Claus' eyes lit up in curiosity, although he didn't bother to approach Ninten.

The Dragos remained still.

Ninten panted, sliding down the last few rocks before landing right in front of Lucas and Claus. The nearest Drago eyed Ninten with wide, black eyes but made no aggressive moves towards him or the twins.

Still. It was a _Drago._

But for what it was worth, the Drago did appear calm. Maybe Lucas and Claus knew what they were doing better than Ninten did.

"Uh…" Ninten looked back and forth between Claus and Lucas. "Hello."

"Who are you?" Claus asked. "I don't think I've ever seen you before."

"My name's Ninten."

"Well I'm Claus. Do you want to practice running into the Dragos with us?"

Ninten couldn't help but notice how Lucas' eyes lit up in concern after Claus' statement. Then again, if Ninten were in Lucas' place he probably wouldn't want to play with some scary grown-up either.

"Wait," Ninten said. "What do you mean by running into Dragos? You're not actually just ramming into them, are you?"

Claus grinned. "Try it. It's fun."

Ninten looked over at the Dragos next to Lucas and Claus. They didn't look aggressive, necessarily, but the way they kept their gaze directed towards the humans put Ninten on edge. Certainly enough for Ninten to give them some space. But if Claus was telling the truth…

"Do your parents know that you're out here?" Ninten asked.

"Well, dad's at home taking care of the sheep," Claus said. "And mom knows that we're out here. We play-fight with Dragos all the time, so she'll know where to find us. I think it's about lunch time, so she might call us in soon."

Claus' smile looked sincere enough, at least. If he was lying, then he was lying with audacity. But the fact that the Dragos seemed to be relaxed made Ninten think that Claus was at least telling the truth about playing with Dragos often. Ninten released a sigh of relief.

"So," Claus said, inching towards Ninten. "You want to try play-fighting with a Drago?"

"Uh…" Ninten looked into the Drago's eye and felt his heart skip a beat. "Thanks for offering, but I don't think I should intrude. Lucas already looks a little nervous back there."

Claus turned around and stuck out his tongue at Lucas. "Come on, Lucas. I'm telling you, playing with more people means more fun."

Ninten raised an eyebrow. He was pretty sure that most children didn't get excited about the prospect of ramming into massive lizards with college students. Lucas turned away from Claus and looked back at Ninten, his wide blue eyes staring into Ninten's soul. Lucas' gaze wasn't aggressive like George's, but the way Lucas' blue eyes seemed to soak in everything around him made Ninten feel just as exposed.

"You know my name," Lucas said.

Oh, right. To Lucas, Ninten was still a complete stranger. Ninten fumbled for a response.

"That's true." Claus whipped his head around and faced Ninten with a frown. "How do you know my brother?"

"I…" Ninten took a moment to swallow. "I'm new here, but I did hear about the twins Claus and Lucas. If you were Claus, I knew that your brother had to be Lucas."

"Oh." A smile popped back onto Claus' face. "I guess that makes sense. We _are_ kind of famous in Tazmily."

Lucas' gaze stayed trained on Ninten. The explanation made some sort of sense, but Ninten knew that his fumbling and hesitations would raise questions for someone as observant as Lucas.

"So you really don't want to play-fight?" Claus said. "You're big enough to really _ram_ into the Dragos."

Ninten felt a queasy feeling in his stomach.

"No thanks," he said.

But come to think of it, Lucas and Claus still probably knew more about the Nowhere Islands than Ninten did. Maybe he could tease out clues about the developers of the game if he asked the right questions. If they put Lucas in the game, they might have inserted evidence about their activity as well.

"Wait," Ninten said as Claus was turning back towards the Dragos. "What's your dad's name?"

Claus turned back around and grinned.

"Claus," Lucas said. "I don't know if we're supposed to talk to strangers."

"Come on, Ninten's too scared to play-fight a _Drago._ Even if he were a bad guy stranger, he wouldn't be able to hurt us."

Well, Claus wasn't entirely wrong on either count.

"Our dad's name is Flint," Claus said, beaming, "And he's one of the best dads in the village. Everyone knows how reliable he is."

"And our mother's name is Hinawa," Lucas said, his voice soft. "Or did you already know that, too?"

Ninten couldn't force himself to look back into Lucas' eyes.

"So you grew up in Tazmily, right?" Ninten said. "How many people did?"

"Well, everyone except for grandpa." Claus frowned. "Where else would they live?"

"Uh… New Pork City, maybe?"

"What?"

"It's just a place I saw on a map I got," Ninten said with a shrug. "It might not even be real."

"Well, I've never heard of it," Claus said, as if that were enough to declare it fake.

"Where do _you_ come from?" Lucas asked.

"Oh, me?" Ninten chuckled. "I… er…"

"Yeah, tell us where you come from." Claus' eyes shone with excitement. "Please?"

"I come from somewhere far away," Ninten said.

"Ooh, where is it?" Claus said.

"Outside of the Nowhere Islands."

Lucas and Claus blinked simultaneously.

"You came from the sea?" Claus said.

"I think he's saying that there's a world outside the Nowhere Islands," Lucas said, his eyes narrowing. "Which doesn't make any sense."

"Wait, like…" Claus' eyes widened. "You mean _land_ outside of the Nowhere Islands?"

"Yeah," Ninten said. "That part's usually implied."

Claus looked out past the cliffs of Mt. Oriander into the forest and sea beyond. As he continued to stare off into the distance, his expression grew wistful.

"You mean there's a whole wide world out there beyond our islands?" Claus said, his voice hardly more than a whisper. "What's it like?"

"I don't know if we can trust this person," Lucas said, eyeing Ninten suspiciously. "If someone came from outside the islands, I think we would have heard from them before now. Mom and dad always said that Tazmily was the only village in the world, and I'll believe them before some stranger."

"Yeah, but where else do you think Ninten comes from?" Claus said. "This is excit-"

Claus was interrupted by what sounded like the chopping of a helicopter from above. Ninten looked up in the sky and saw a round, metal airship floating in the sky, held aloft by a tiny propeller above and jets spewing out blue fire below. Ninten frowned, wondering if whoever had made such a bulky airship had bothered to consult an aerospace engineer first. Probably not.

The airship passed over Ninten, cloaking him and the younger twins in a shadow under the noon sun. Ninten glanced over and saw Lucas eyeing the metal airship suspiciously while Claus stared up at the sky with twinkling eyes. The airship kept passing over the islands and eventually faded into the distance.

"See?" Claus said, giving Lucas a nudge with his elbow. "Those must be other people from where Ninten lives."

"Somehow, I don't think so," Ninten said, tracking the airship as it grew smaller and smaller. "I think they're a bad sign."

Ninten had listened to Ana talk about enough V-games to know that the people with the industrial airships were usually the bad guys trying to oppress the honest small-town workers. It seemed odd to Ninten that most V-games made in cities with massive development teams and state of the art effects would bash on industrialism and technology, but apparently it was the industry standard.

So a symbol for dangerous imperialism floated in the sky, and Ninten knew about a certain incident that would happen in a few days. When he added in the Masked Man's implication that someone was specifically trying to cause a massive fire in the Sunshine Forest, Ninten had an inkling for where to find the culprits.

"Boys!" came a woman's call from up the Cliffside. "Time for lunch. I made your favorite omelets."

Ninten recognized the voice, and looked back towards Alec's house to see Hinawa standing on the rocks, her red dress swaying in the mountain breeze. She smiled at her children and then eyed Ninten with a suspicious gaze. Ninten could see where Lucas got his caution from.

"Ooh, Omelets!" Claus ran off towards Hinawa.

"You've definitely seen her before," Lucas said, studying Ninten's expression. "But she doesn't recognize you."

"No," Ninten protested. "Listen, Lucas. I may be a stranger, but I'm not a stalker. The people in Tazmily just described what your mother looked like."

For a brief moment, Ninten felt a stab of pity for the Masked Man. Trying to hide information was uncomfortable enough, and to do it so poorly made him want to run away from Lucas' discerning eyes in that exact moment. Lucas shrugged as if it meant nothing to him and ran off towards his mother.

Ninten followed Lucas and Claus up the mountainside. He tried to ignore Hinawa's gaze even though he was aware that she had been staring at him ever since she called in her kids for lunch. When Ninten finally reached the area where Hinawa was standing, he looked her back in the eye.

"Greetings," Hinawa said, her voice lacking any warmth. "It's a little strange to see someone I've never met playing with my children."

"I apologize," Ninten said. "I'm new to the area and I was concerned about them being so close to the Dragos. It is fortunate that you are blessed with such friendly creatures here."

Ninten wasn't sure if he had suppressed the dripping sarcasm in his voice. The Mcha-Drago he had encountered during the fire gave him a good idea of what the creatures _could_ do, but Ninten doubted that he could convince Hinawa right here how dangerous the Dragos were.

"Hmm." Hinawa did not sound convinced. "And your arrival has nothing to do with the metal bird in the sky?"

Metal… bird? Did these people have no concept of planes or airships?

"If I were with them, I would have come in an airship as well," Ninten said, "And I wouldn't be alone. But I apologize again if I made you feel uncomfortable. Claus just seemed so friendly that I figured it couldn't hurt to stay and ask questions about this place. If you want, I can leave and never see you again."

Hinawa's expression softened slightly. "I don't mean to push you away if you want to stay with us. I just don't know what to do with strangers. I don't think we've ever had someone show up out of nowhere before."

"So there really is nobody outside of Tazmily Village?"

Hinawa flashed a thin smile. "Other than you and my father, no. At least, not that I know of. But that metal bird makes me suspicious. And by proxy, it makes me suspicious of you."

Hinawa's articulate speech and large vocabulary seemed out of place in a small-town setting that Ninten suspected lacked vigorous education opportunities, but then again Ness hadn't matched the stereotype of a country bumpkin as well. Even inside of V-games, perhaps times were changing.

"I don't blame you," Ninten said. "Better safe than sorry, I know. That's why I want to stay out of your way. I don't know where I'll go, but I don't want to cause you any more stress and worry."

"How… gracious of you." Hinawa frowned. "But I worry about the steel bird more than you. Do you know anything about it?"

Ninten shook his head. "I saw it going off into the distance. Do you know where it could be headed?"

Ninten pointed in the direction where the airship had disappeared into the sky, and Hinawa's eyes lit up in understanding.

"The Drago Plateau," Hinawa said. "I hope they don't agitate the Dragos with whatever they're doing. The Dragos are such peaceful creatures, and it would break my heart to see anything happen to them."

Ninten felt the blood draining from his face.

"You… do your people know how to craft that kind of metal you saw on the airship?" he asked.

"We have a blacksmith," Hinawa said, eyeing Ninten. "But we would not be able to make a massive bird out of metal like they did."

"And I don't suppose you know how to make prosthetic limbs?"

Hinawa's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought. I think I know _exactly_ what the people inside the airship are doing, and I need to get over to the Drago plateau to stop them. Thanks for the directions."

"Wait," Hinawa said. "There are people _inside_ the metal bird?"

"Yeah, how else would they pilot it?"

"I… don't know what that word means either."

Ninten shook his head. "Never mind. I need to go now before it's too late."

"Wait," Hinawa said as Ninten was turning around to leave. "One last question, stranger."

"Yes?" Ninten looked back over his shoulder at Hinawa.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"I don't know," Ninten answered honestly. "I wish I did."

With that response, Ninten walked away towards the Drago Plateau in the east.

* * *

The winds around the Drago Plateau weren't as intense as the gusts of cold air on Mt. Oriander, but the breeze played flat notes in the air that put Ninten's teeth on edge. Combined with an emptiness where vegetation and animal life should have been, Ninten could almost believe that the wind was playing a sad melody on purpose as a V-game soundtrack.

Ninten climbed up the tan-colored rocks, some of them crumbling under his footsteps. How could an organism as large as a Drago possibly survive in an area with so little food? But then again, maybe they didn't come here to hunt. Ninten recalled that ectotherms like crocodiles could live for weeks after a single catch, and he doubted Dragos would be much different.

Ninten's thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a landed airship. A steel ramp led up to a seemingly empty cockpit, and Ninten saw footsteps on the soft ground leading away from the airship. Ninten followed the footsteps until spotting the end of the plateau, a sheer cliff leading off into a ravine below.

At the edge of the cliff, Ninten spotted an unconscious Drago with mechanical legs and metal plating on the left half of its face. The bottom half of its jaw was completely missing, and the Drago oozed out dark red blood. Surrounding the Drago were three figures in pig suits, and two of them were working on fitting a metal jaw on its face.

The last man in the pig suit turned around and looked at Ninten, gripping what looked like a laser gun in hand.

"I was wondering when you would show up," the pig-man said. "Fortunately, you are here in time to witness the pigmask ingenuity."

"I have no idea who you are," Ninten said.

"But you have an idea what we do," the pigmask said, "And what we are _going_ to do."

Ninten stared at the pigmask while the other two continued fitting the mechanical jaw on the unconscious Drago. Had Ninten met this person inside of the Nowhere Islands before?

"I suppose it could have been anyone standing in my place," the pigmask said, "But I wanted to be here this time. You are not welcome in the Nowhere Islands. You do not belong here. Leave and never come back."

"And you are welcome?" Ninten said.

"Oh, of course not," the pigmask said. "But I can't just _leave_ like you can."

The pigmask tore off its mask, revealing a middle-aged man with grey stubble on his cheeks and chin. The rest of his pig suit rippled in the wind as he eyed Ninten suspiciously through a pair of glasses.

"I still don't know you," Ninten said.

"You can come out now, Claus," the man said.

Ninten heard a yelp by the rock behind him, and Claus stepped out wearing a nervous smile. The pigmask pointed his laser gun straight at Claus and shook his head.

"You really need to play more attention to your tag-alongs, Ninten," the man said.

"Isaac." Claus' eyes widened. "Why are you here? What are you doing? How do you know Ninten?"

"I am not the Isaac that you know." Isaac kept his gun trained at Claus. "So don't expect any mercy."

"I…" Claus took a step back, pulling his hands in towards his chest for defense. "Isaac, please."

"Now," Isaac said, "I know that Ninten has PSI and can survive a few blasts from this laser gun, but Claus most _certainly_ cannot. If you two do anything suspicious, and I mean _anything,_ I'll shoot. For now, both of you stay still."

Isaac raised his finger to the trigger. Claus gasped, trembling as the wind whipped past and ruffled his hair. The two pigmasks in the background had mostly attached the jaw to the unconscious Drago and now appeared to be in the process of putting in screws for reinforcement. Claus looked at the unconscious Drago and tears started coming to his eyes.

"Why?" Claus said. "What did the Drago ever do to you?"

"It attacked us," Isaac said casually. "We were trying to bring its child back to raise as a killing machine, but I guess this works."

"No," Claus protested. "You… can't!"

Claus broke into sobs, unable to find more words. Isaac's finger inched even closer to the trigger of his laser gun.

"I'm going to make one thing clear right now," Isaac said. "I don't give a _fuck_ about you, Claus. I'm here for Ninten. So if you can't keep your little peephole shut, I'll make sure personally that you never open it again."

Claus gulped and nodded, tears streaming down his face. Ninten took a deep breath and turned back towards Isaac. How _dare_ he threaten a child at gunpoint? Ninten resisted the urge to charge forward. Instead, he closed his eyes and took a moment to cycle through this PSI abilities. Most of them were buffs, and none of those would help Ninten disarm Isaac before the madman could shoot Claus.

"It's pathetic," Isaac said, shaking his head at Ninten. "Threatening them shouldn't work. You shouldn't _care_ about these tools. But you do, because you're a fucking idiot."

"You mean the people around me?" Ninten said. "Of course I care."

"They're pieces in a game."

"So are you." Ninten shrugged. "So am I. There are always games being played, wherever you look. The pieces can still have a life of their own."

Isaac shook his head. "You are hopeless, Ninten. I thought I might be able to reason with you, but clearly there's nothing to be done. You'll just fumble your way through this game if we keep let you playing."

"Who's 'we'?"

Isaac smiled. "People with different agendas. We are not all the same. But we are more real than these bits of code." Isaac gestured towards Claus. "I could murder him, and then go back and murder him _again_ and _again_. And each time I boot up the game, he won't remember a damn thing."

"Ninten." Claus bit his lip, quaking in his shoes. "What's he saying?"

"So I'm going to prove a point right here, right now," Isaac said. "I'm going to shoot Claus right now, and then I'll kill you. When you boot up the game the next time, Claus won't recognize you. He won't remember what happened. Because for him, it really _didn't happen._ "

"I don't…" Claus took a step back. "I don't understand. Please…"

"No!" Ninten said. "Don't shoot Claus. Leave this between you and me."

Isaac looked thoughtful for a moment. "Fine. I won't kill Claus for now, so long as you two stay still and do what you're told."

Ninten realized that he had been holding his breath and exhaled slowly. He could only imagine what "do what you're told" could mean, but at least Isaac hadn't fried Claus to a crisp yet. Still, the knowing smile on Issac's face sent a chill running down Ninten's spine

"Which means no running away," Isaac said. "And no 4th-D slipping for you, Ninten. I'm not sure if you know this, but you were granted an initial burst of power in the Sunshine Forest that let you travel back in time once. Now, you can only go forward. If you zip out of time, you'll come back here to find your little friend's guts all over the ground."

"Stop scaring him," Ninten said.

"You don't tell me what to do." Isaac snarled. "I am going to _crush_ you, Ninten. I don't know what you're doing snooping around the Nowhere Islands, but it's time I put an end to it."

Isaac turned back to the two other pigmasks, who by the looks of it had finished attaching the jaw to the Drago.

"Time to give it a whirl," Isaac told the pigmasks.

The pigmasks nodded, and they both pulled out what looked like police batons. One of them placed their baton on the mechanical jaw, while the other placed their baton on the metal leg.

"And… go," Isaac said.

Ninten heard a low hum, followed by the Drago jolting in what looked like an unconscious flinch. It remained collapsed on the ground but let out a low moan.

"Again," Isaac said.

Another hum, another momentary recoil from the Drago, and another whimper.

"Ninten," Claus said. "What are they doing to the Drago?"

"I think they're shocking it." Trying to bring it to life like Frankenstein's monster, perhaps.

"They're… what?"

Ninten thought of the right way to phrase it. "Sending tiny bolts of lightning through it."

Claus' eyes widened. "We have to stop them."

Had he forgotten that one movement from either of them would prompt Isaac to shoot?

"Isaac," Claus said. "Please, you're hurting the Drago."

"That's part of the point," Isaac said, flashing a cruel smile. "Again."

Another hum, and another pained growl. This time, the Drago opened her eyes.

 _"_ _Please,"_ Claus said.

"Again," Isaac said.

Yet another hum. This time, the Drago let out a roar, standing up on her feet. She staggered for a moment before growling at the pigmasks who had electrified her. The two pigmasks let out a squeal before running away, past Isaac and moments later past Ninten and Claus. Ninten didn't dare touch either of them, not while Isaac's gun was trained straight at Claus.

"I'm not going to kill Claus," Isaac said, grinning, "Because the Drago will."

Isaac reached down into his pocket, and for a moment his eyes went down to his waist and his gun's aim was off. Ninten might not get an opportunity.

"Run!" he shouted at Claus, and then barreled towards Isaac.

Isaac flinched, likely out of surprise more than anything else, and then leveled his laser gun and shot. The bolt whizzed past Ninten, and Ninten could only hope that Claus had gotten clear in the few moments he had been given. Isaac sneered and pulled a remote control device out of his left pocket. He pressed a button on the device, and the Drago's head started to turn towards Ninten.

Not this again.

But Ninten didn't have time to turn back. He used his quick-up ability and crossed the space between him and Isaac in a dozen long strides. He zipped through the air like a falcon, tackling Isaac to the ground. The older man let out an "oomph" as his and Ninten's bodies collided with the rocks. Ninten raised a fist and punched Isaac in the face, the motion followed by a flash of pain coming from Ninten's knuckles. Okay, maybe not the best way to fight someone.

Ninten managed to see clearly through the pain and tried to wrestle the remote control device out of Isaac's hand. Isaac dropped the device and fumbled for his laser gun. Ninten reached out for the remote control device and Isaac wrestled Ninten off to unpin himself. Ninten stood up with the remote controller in hand, and Isaac popped up a moment later holding his laser gun.

Ninten heard the pounding of steps mere feet behind him, and a shadow fell over him. Ninten hopped away, using his boosted speed to escape what he knew was the Drago. After retreating and reorienting himself, Ninten could see the Mecha-Drago clearly. Isaac let out a growl, his nose bleeding from when Ninten had punched him in the face. He backed behind the Drago, near the edge of the cliff. Isaac leveled his laser gun and fired a shot through the Drago's legs…

Straight at the remote controller.

The laser bolt collided with the controller, and sparks flew off of the remote device. Ninten dropped the remote and looked back up to see the Drago slowly approaching him.

"They'll never attack someone in a pigmask suit," Isaac said, stumbling forward and firing another shot at Ninten. "And now nobody will be able to tell it to stop."

Ninten looked back down at the remote, which was still releasing sparks. He couldn't stop the Drago with the remote, and he knew from experience that he couldn't fight a Drago head-on. And if Ninten ran away, he would just lead the Drago to the other villagers. Really, he had no hope of getting out of this situation alive without hurting innocent people.

But there might be one person Ninten could take out of the equation with him.

Ninten dashed towards the Drago, the wind flying past him as he ran forward with his boosted speed. Isaac fired another shot, glancing off of Ninten's shoulder. The man was good, but Ninten managed to survive the shot with a blinking health bar. The Drago roared and bared its mechanical fangs, but Ninten didn't slow down even as he got close to the Drago by the edge of the cliffs.

Isaac's eyes widened when he realized what Ninten was doing, but by then it was too late.

Ninten dashed between the Drago's legs, straight towards Isaac, who tried to dart sideways. However, Isaac didn't manage to start into a sprint immediately. Ninten barreled forward, slamming his body into Isaac's and sending them both flying off into the ravine below while the force of impact left him numb.

As Ninten was falling through the air and the ground grew closer and closer, his mind started to wander. He thought back to Ana and his promise to discover more about Lucas' affiliations through this suspicious game. He thought back to Lucas himself, and recalled seeing the shy boy on a couple of occasions in the large lecture halls.

But after those quick memories, he thought about Claus. Ninten hoped that Claus would get back in time to warn the others about the Mecha-Drago, and he hoped that Isaac's death would halt the pigmask plans.

And more than anything, he hoped that Claus wouldn't be scarred for life by seeing someone he knew point a gun at him and threaten to fire.

Those hopes stayed with Ninten even as the ground rose up to meet him, even after hearing a _crunch_ while he hit the ravine floor as the pain turned his vision red.

He hoped it would be enough.

* * *

 _GAME OVER._

Same white text, same floating consciousness, same everything.

 _DUE TO YOUR BRAVERY ONCE AGAIN, CLAUS WAS SPARED AND MANAGED TO WARN THE PEOPLE OF TAZMILY ABOUT THE MECHA-DRAGO. AND IN TIME, THEY EVEN MANAGED TO DEFEAT IT._

 _BUT WHILE THE PEOPLE OF TAZMILY SURVIVED, THEY STILL COULD NOT THRIVE. NOT WHEN THE PIGMASKS WERE EXPANDING TO ALL CORNERS OF THE NOWHERE ISLANDS, BRINGING ENTERTAINMENT TO LULL THE MASSES WHILE INSERTING THEMSELVES INTO LOCAL GOVERMENTS._

 _WITHIN YEARS, TAZMILY VILLAGE WOULD FALL UNDER PIGMASK CONTROL._

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _CLAUS' LIFE WAS NOT ENOUGH TO STOP THE CYCLE OF SUFFERING._

 _HE WAS NOT THE ONE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAVE._

 _PLEASE… COME BACK WHEN YOU WISH TO EXPLORE MORE OF THE NOWHERE ISLANDS._

 _I'LL BE WAITING._


	7. Trapped

**So, this chapter is 6.7k words long (before AN), yet it somehow feels short to me. Maybe it's because there's a lot of info packed in here, and I tried to make the Nowhere Islands storyline coherent for anyone who doesn't remember Mother 3's plot by heart. Uh... I realized just now that there were already some spoilers for Mother 3, although I'm guessing it's all stuff you've seen on the Lucas Miiverse in Sm4sh anyway (RIP Miiverse btw D:).**

 **Also, I was touching up on plot structures and saw that a lot of different structures focus on a "point of no return" where the hero's kinda trapped in their adventure. So I decided kinda last minute to add one in for Ninten to increase the tension. We all know that Ana's the real hero, though... at least in her mind. :P**

 **As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. :) Have a great day.**

* * *

 **Review Response: PKTofuMaster:** Yeah, I always start these projects and then they take way longer than I expect. -_- I'm liking how this one is going so far, overall. I decided to steal the whole "video game world" thing from some sci-fi books I was reading, and I'm finding that psionics and virtual reality are both things I really like talking about and they go pretty well together. I'm still garbage at editing, though, so I don't know if I'll be able to do anything with this sort of setting in real books I write. I do feel like I could turn this into a non-fanfic novel pretty easily, though. But I'm really glad that you like the fic so far! :) I learned from Ceres that mysteries need to have much more content than just setting up a mystery and then eventually revealing it... characters need to have their own ideas about how everything plays out, and minor revelations need to come at each step of the way and inform new theories. There's a lot I still need to work on, but I think that's one area where I'm getting better (especially since Ceres was so shotgun.. there was so much content I had to resolve that I didn't get to go into any one mystery as much as I wanted to). And I'm glad you like the characters, too. :) Ninten and Ana are based off of my personal life and the characters in the V-game are coming to me as the story develops... it's weird to have some characters that were planned beforehand and others that just kinda spring into existence (normally I write just the latter).

And I took up a huge block of text. -_- But thanks for reviewing! I hope you have a little more free time soon. :)

* * *

Instead of sunflowers, Ninten found himself surrounded by slabs of rocks that emitted a dull purple light.

He frowned, looking around his new environment. Jagged walls and a ceiling implied that he was inside of a cave, but gaps in the array of glowing rocks led down to an abyss deeper than Ninten can see. Sounds of ambiance echoed throughout the cave, ranging from water dripping onto the ground to unearthly bellows coming from deeper within the cave.

Was it possible that Ninten was still inside the Nowhere Islands V-game?

No. In front of Ninten, bathed from below in a purple light, was the dragon-and-islands sprite that would take him into the Nowhere Islands game. He studied the sprite for a second to make sure it was the same before deciding to exit Lucas' psyspace and chat with Ana about his findings in the real world. Likely, she would want to hear about his encounters with the Masked Man and Isaac, since both of them had been aware that he came from outside a V-game.

Ninten closed his eyes and willed his consciousness outside of Lucas' psyspace.

When he opened his eyes, he was still standing inside the glowing cave.

Ninten frowned and tried again. No response. After trying and failing to exit once more, Ninten forced himself to take a deep breath. He could think about this rationally. There was no way he could actually be trapped inside someone else's psyspace. Sure, Lucas' disappearance was strange, but people _did_ go missing. The idea that Ninten could be stuck inside Lucas' Magicant was absurd. This was real life, not some low-budget movie.

Ninten paced back and forth, closing his eyes to check the time. 7:37, which he thought was over an hour since he last entered the Nowhere Islands V-game. Before long, Ana would shake his body awake. Yes, that would be how Ninten exited Lucas' Magicant.

But seriously. Where _was_ he? He still had access to features like the time, so he had to be somewhere in Lucas' Magicant. He was probably inside one of the files floating around the sunflower fields, which didn't narrow Ninten's options by much. If all of Lucas' files looked as detailed as this one, Ninten wondered if Lucas had time to do anything else at all with his life.

"Ah, there you are."

Ninten spun around to see Ana looking at him with a worried frown. The glowing light from the stones beneath Ana's feet lit up her neck and chin while leaving the rest of her face slightly obscured in darkness. After a moment, she released a sigh that did little to relieve her tense posture.

"I assume you can't get out?" Ana said.

"I haven't found a way yet," Ninten said. "But I can't actually be trapped in here, can I?"

"I'm… not sure. The whole situation feels a little surreal."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Ninten said.

"No, not in this way." Ana gestured towards the glowing stones around her. "The file that you've been transported to was just created in the last hour."

Ninten blinked.

"Come _on,_ Ninten," Ana said. "Of course I didn't create it and stick you in here."

Ninten hadn't meant to suggest that she had. But if Ana hadn't trapped him in Lucas' Magicant…

"Do you know who did?" Ninten said.

"No. I mean, nobody else really _could_ unless they were already in Lucas' Magicant to begin with. But I promise it wasn't me."

"Ann." Ninten smiled. "I do trust you."

"I…" Ana closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "I know."

Ana's frown turned into a grimace, and when she opened her eyes her posture looked even stiffer than before.

"I'm sorry," Ana said. "I was just worried about you. I still am, really. This shouldn't be happening to us."

"It shouldn't," Ninten agreed.

"But it _is_ happening to us."

"It is."

Ana exhaled sharply. "Fuck."

Ninten could only nod along.

"I'm amazed that _you're_ not the one flipping shit right now," Ana said.

"I feel safe when I'm with you," Ninten said. "Besides, I think I need a few minutes to process everything that happened. Some… interesting things happened to me during my last visit to the Nowhere Islands."

Ninten recounted what happened for Ana, starting with his conversation with the oddly aware Masked Man and transitioning his story to the events with Claus, Isaac, and the Mecha-Drago.

And as he talked, the reality of his current situation did start to set in. Ninten was trapped inside of here, and he might not find his way out anytime soon. If his consciousness stayed inside of these caves while his body lay immobile on the ground in Ness' dorm, it might start to take a toll on his physical health after a while. Even now, Ninten could feel hunger creeping up on him and remembered a news article talking about how some teenager had died from playing V-games for so long that he hadn't eat, drank, or slept for days. If Ana couldn't get help, Ninten might be forced into that situation.

For the first time in Ninten's life, he really could be in danger. And instead of feeling the apprehension that he expected, Ninten was just about ready to accept the potential threat. He had enough time that he didn't need to panic for now. Because if he couldn't escape, then, well… what was he really going to accomplish by freaking out now?

And of course, there was an uneasy feeling in the back of Ninten's mind, a voice screaming for him to run and hide. Ninten did his best to quiet that voice.

"Is it hitting you now?" Ana said. "You're trapped into a fucking _psyspace_ and you can't leave."

Ninten nodded numbly.

"But you still aren't losing your shit."

"When I do start panicking, I'll probably just freeze," Ninten said. "Wouldn't help me if a car was about to run me over, but here it would probably be more productive than running around screaming my head off."

Ana's eyes narrowed. "Is that what you're trying to say I'm doing?"

"No, of course not." Ninten felt his cheeks redden. "I just… really don't think I should panic."

"You're probably right." Ana sighed, looking around. "This place could really use a couch for me to just collapse in."

"Yeah, I doubt the rocks would be that comfortable." Ninten grimaced. "Hopefully I don't have to sleep here for the night."

"I should get help," Ana said. "I've been trying to find a way to hack into the code of this file ever since it showed up. I only just managed to get access to _open_ the file."

"And getting access to the code is a lot harder?"

Ana sighed. "Yes. Yes it is. I don't even know who _made_ this prison, but a psyspace file shouldn't be able to keep anyone trapped inside."

"Have you ever heard of anyone being locked into someone else's psyspace before?" Ninten said.

"Eh…" Ana wrinkled her nose. "Not _really._ I mean, there was something kind of similar…"

"What happened?"

"The CIA tried interrogating captives by sending them to torture psyspaces. But it ended up being redundant, since they had to make the torture in the real world even worse so that the captives would stay in the psyspace."

"Oh." Ninten couldn't think of anything else to say.

"A little dark, I know, but that's where my mind's been recently." Ana sighed. "I really should get some help, since I'm not sure if I'll be able to mess with the code and get you out of here myself."

"All of the university facilities are closed, right?" Ninten said.

"Well, I bet the gym is still open."

Ninten shot Ana a flat stare. "But any sort of tech service would be closed at 7:50 or whatever time it is."

"Yeah, probably."

"So who are you going to call for help?"

Ana shrugged. "The cops? We're both White, so I think that they would at least try to help us."

"Ann…"

"Okay, I know that you're like a Twinkie." Ana grinned. "White on the outside and Yellow on the inside. But they won't know about your Asian parents."

"That wasn't what I meant." Ninten frowned. "But honestly, what do you think the police are going to do? Yeah, this may be an emergency. I might be trapped here. But this isn't the sort of place they can save me from. You probably know more than they do about psyspace coding."

"Hacking is different than coding." Ana sniffed.

"Whatever. I don't think the police are going to help us. I'm sure I can at least make it through the night, and you can probably go find an expert to help us tomorrow. Besides, you couldn't even get in the dorm room if you left now, right?"

"I won't be able to get back in the dorm room if I leave tomorrow, either," Ana said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you could call the tech center and have them come to us."

"Oh." Ana laughed. "I guess I could do that. But are you really okay being trapped here for the night?"

"Yeah, I'll make it."

Ana nodded, and her expression grew focused. She tilted her head slightly downward, and her face lit up from the purple light below. "I'll keep working on the code and trying to bust you out of here. I can stay here and keep you company, if you like."

"Thanks for the offer, but I have a world I need to keep exploring." Ninten gestured towards the dragon-and-islands sprite. "I might find some more secrets about Lucas' disappearance."

"I'm not usually the voice of caution between the two of us," Ana said, furrowing her brow, "But that game scares me. You went in once, and you woke up in a panic. You go in twice, and you don't wake up at all. What happens when you go in your third time?"

"I don't know," Ninten said. "But I want to see Lucas and Claus again, even if they won't remember what happened last time."

"You… do know that they're lines of code in a game, right? I do like that you protected them in the V-game. It shows that you're a sweet person. But you shouldn't _endanger_ yourself for them." Ana's eyes narrowed. "Please tell me I'm being obvious, Ninten."

"You know who else called Claus a sequence of code?" Ninten said. "Isaac. And Claus was heartbroken. Betrayed."

"Well, I wouldn't say it right to his face, but it's _true._ I'm starting to think we should find other ways to look for Lucas and forget that the V-game ever existed."

"Well, I don't really have that luxury," Ninten said. "So I'll make do with what I have. Besides, I do think that Isaac was another player operating from a different psyspace, and I wouldn't want to actually take his advice and quit."

"That's part of what scares me," Ana said. "The Mecha-Drago might kill you in the game, but if real-life Isaac finds out who you are then he might hunt you down outside the psyspace. We were joking about stalkers earlier, but they _do_ exist and I want you to stay away from someone potentially dangerous like Isaac."

"There are plenty of people who look like me," Ninten said.

"And are there plenty of people with your name?" Ana said, "Who are your age and live in an area where they could access Lucas' psyspace? It's not hard to find people, Ninten. Don't get on the bad side of whoever made this game."

"I… just want to go in one more time," Ninten said. "To find more secrets, at least. I promise I'll quit and come back here if things look scary."

"That's what you said last time, and here we are." Ana sighed. "But I guess I can't _really_ stop you. Just… do be careful, all right?"

One look into Ana's worried eyes was enough to make Ninten nod sincerely. He _would_ stay safe in the V-game, for Ana's sake if not his own.

"And thank you for working to break me out of here," Ninten said. "I'm sorry if it seems like I don't appreciate your efforts by putting myself in more danger. I'm just so comfortable to have you watching my back that I think I can be useful in the Nowhere Islands V-game while you're busting me out."

Ana smirked. "Don't thank me until you wake up in Ness' dorm room."

"I appreciate the attempt either way," Ninten said. "And I do believe in your abilities. You've managed to save my physics grade so far, which is enough to make me think that you're capable of just about anything."

Ana laughed. "Thanks. I'll try not to let you down."

Ninten walked over and put a hand on the head of the dragon-and-islands sprite.

"And I'll try to come back with some real information this time," Ninten said.

* * *

 _THE YEAR IS 20XX. WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS THE LAST REMNANT OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION._

 _THE PEOPLE YOU WILL MEET DO NOT KNOW WHY THE REST OF THE WORLD WAS DESTROYED, OR EVEN HOW. THEY NEVER KNEW THAT A REAL "WORLD" EVEN EXISTED._

 _THE NOWHERE ISLANDS ARE THE ONLY OASIS IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INFINITE DESERT._

 _AND THEY ARE ABOUT TO BE DESTROYED._

 _WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS REAL. IT IS THE FUTURE._

 _AND IT IS THE PAST._

 _YOU WILL SEE THE SAME TRAGEDIES REPEAT THEMSELVES AGAIN AND AGAIN._

 _YOU WILL COME ACROSS PEOPLE WHO ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT THE CYCLE OF SUFFERING._

 _YOU ARE THEIR ONLY HOPE._

 _SAVE ONE PERSON, AND BREAK THE CYCLE._

 _THAT IS YOUR QUEST._

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _WELCOME TO THE NOWHERE ISLANDS._

* * *

Same forest. Same smoke. Same-

Ninten wasn't going to face Hinawa a third time. Heart pounding in his chest, eyes looking on the position between the trees where he knew where she would come out, Ninten used 4th-D slip.

He disappeared before he caught a glimpse of her or the twins.

* * *

Ninten found himself standing inside of a glass box in outer space. When he looked outside the walls, he saw thousands of stars flickering in the distance. Some of the stars flashed brilliant reds and greens, clustered into bunches and swirled into galaxies. He looked back at the four walls of the glass box and saw that each one had a glass door with a doorknob ready to open, along with a glass trapdoor on the floor.

"You know, this is what the view looks like from space."

Ninten let out a yelp, turning around and coming face to face with the Masked Man. The younger boy cracked a slight smirk as he leaned on the glass wall next to Ninten.

"Lucas told me that he could hardly see any stars in your city," the Masked Man said, "So I wondered if you had ever seen anything like this."

Ninten frowned, looking out at the sparkling stars in the sky. He had never known that there could be _so many._ The darkness was nearly infinite, all encompassing… and yet in every corner of the darkness lay a twinkling cluster of stars. The universe felt more _alive_ than Ninten would have previously thought possible.

"In Los Angeles, there was a day when the power went out for the whole city," the Masked Man said. "911 got a whole lot of calls that night."

"Because people were sneaking around stealing stuff in the darkness?"

"Because they saw _this._ " The Masked Man gestured to the universe of glowing lights outside the glass box. "People thought the world was ending because it was the first time in their life they had ever seen so many stars. Can you believe it?"

"I might be one of those people," Ninten said.

The Masked Man snorted. "I don't think you would call 911 just because you saw a few stars. But… have you really never seen anything like this before?"

Ninten shook his head. "Have you?"

"Well, not _this,_ but I saw a sky full of stars almost every night. It was so safe where I grew up. I knew the stars in the sky better than I knew my parents." The Masked Man frowned. "But of course, that safety was an illusion. That's why I'm here _._ "

So the Masked Man didn't want to be there, then. Neither did Isaac, and neither did Ninten.

"You said that you're not a player," Ninten said. "You're more like a moderator. But were you a player, once?"

The Masked Man smiled. "No. I didn't get trapped in here by playing the game like you did. The game itself isn't a trap designed to suck in sneaky little people like you. Although, that would be pretty cool if it were. I need to pass that on."

Pass that onto whom? Did the Masked Man have a superior that he reported to?

"But I'm letting you interrogate me again," The Masked Man said. "It's supposed to go the other way around."

"Yeah, that's how I felt with Lucas during my last playthrough."

"Not sure that's going to change anytime soon." The Masked Man looked up as a comet passed over the glass box. "I do feel like I owe you a couple of explanations, though."

"Hit me with it, then."

"First." The Masked Man held up a finger. "I'm sorry that you're trapped in the Cave of the Dark Dragon. It's not my doing."

"So that's the cave with the glowey purple stones?"

"That's… not how we usually describe them, but yes." The Masked Man held up another finger. "Second, I was the one who brought you here to this glass box, and I'm the one monitoring your powers, giving you your abilities, and all that."

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me. They haven't done you much good so far, have they?" The Masked Man frowned. "Besides, we're not supposed to be friends. I'm not doing this for you."

"Well, I can't really afford to be choosy with my company right now," Ninten said.

"We are not friends. End of discussion." The Masked Man took a deep breath and held up three fingers. "Third. Those doors lead to different time periods on the Nowhere Islands. You can choose to explore the ones you want. Really, you can choose any time period you want, but I put in the ones I thought were important. Let me know if you want to travel to a specific time."

"Am I supposed to give you the year, or what?"

"You can if you want. It will likely be easier to use other events as a reference."

"Oh, so like a year after the fire or whatever?"

"Right. Although I can tell you now that it's not all that interesting." The Masked Man put four fingers up, leaving only his thumb lowered. "Fourth. You might meet more people like Isaac who are, to some degree, real. They won't track you down in real life, but they _will_ try to hinder your progress in game. Treat them accordingly."

"Look, man," Ninten said. "This is a _lot_ of explaining. I really just want to get back to exploring the Nowhere Islands."

The Masked Man paused for a second before nodding. "In that case, you'll probably want to hear my last tip." He held up a full five fingers. "I decided that since you were so attached to Lucas and Claus, the game will remember the actions you took during your last playthrough. If you wish to reset everyone's memories of you, jump in the trapdoor."

"So Isaac was wrong. Claus _will_ remember me."

"About that." The Masked Man's mouth tightened. "I wouldn't count on it. But other people will."

Ninten raised an eyebrow.

"You'll figure it out for yourself," the Masked Man said. "But for now, I'll color-code the doors and let you pick one."

The four glass doors on the four walls turned red, blue, green, and purple.

"You know, being in Lucas' Magicant with his whole surreal aesthetic makes me want to make a stained-glass pattern and put it on those doors," Ninten said.

"Unfortunately, you're stuck with me as your baby-sitter, and I don't have his artistic talent," the Masked Man said. "Besides, the doors are easier to describe this way. It's easy for me to say that I recommend the green door first."

" _Do_ you recommend the green door first?" Ninten said.

"I do. It takes place soon after the fire, and I think it expands a lot on what's going on in the Nowhere Islands."

"Where do the other doors lead?"

"Further into the future." The Masked Man shrugged. "But comes after the green, and then red, with purple taking place furthest along in the timeline of the Nowhere Islands."

"Wow. So they're not even ordered by wavelength."

The Masked Man frowned. "You're making even less sense than usual."

Ninten sniffed. "Ana would have understood what I meant." He flashed a cheesy grin at the Masked Man. "But I think I'm going to go into the blue door. See what's in store more than a few days after the fire."

"Suit yourself," The Masked Man said, and gestured towards the blue door.

Ninten walked over to the blue door and put his hand on the blue doorknob.

"Ninten."

"Hmm?" He turned his head towards the Masked Man.

"I… really do hope that Ana gets you out of Lucas' Magicant. It's interesting having you around, but I would never want to have you trapped here with us. I'd bust you out myself if I could."

"Thanks." Ninten felt a surge of energy, and he tightened his grip on the doorknob. "Are you sure we aren't friends?"

"I… am still pretty sure we are not. But I do wish the best for you, Ninten. If circumstances were different, I think that we might have been friends after all."

Ninten smiled, turned the doorknob, and thrust the blue door open. Rays of light coming from the open door engulfed him, surrounding him with more light until his vision went pure white.

* * *

Ninten heard the humming of electricity and adopted a defensive stance. A moment later, his surroundings came into view. He stood inside a circular room with wires scattered across the floor and a massive generator in the room.

A moment later, jolts of electricity appeared between the floor and the ceiling, and Ninten's vision flashed red with pain. As the spots in his vision cleared, Ninten looked to the center of the room to see a robot emerging from the generator, carrying a pair of charged electromagnets in its hands.

Strange. The walls of this room looked like they were made of steel, which meant that Ninten should be standing inside of a Faraday Cage, but he didn't have time to worry about _why_ electrical attacks from outside were working on him. Ninten used Lifeup on himself and ran towards the robot that was partially emerged from the cylindrical generator in the center of the room.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ninten saw Lucas nearly collapsed on the floor, his arm wrapped around the shoulder of a pink-haired girl to keep from slumping over. The robot fired a bolt of electricity from the electromagnet in its right hand, shocking both Lucas and the pink-haired girl. Lucas let out a scream and fell to the floor, his muscles spasming for seconds afterwards.

Take care of the robot now, help the kids later. Ninten searched around for a weapon to use and saw part a sharpened piece of scrap metal lying on the floor. It had probably gotten knocked loose during the fight, and it was wide enough to be bulky for Ninten to carry around, but he couldn't see anything else that would give him a chance against an electricity-slinging robot.

Ninten rushed over and picked up the piece of scrap metal, holding the sharpened edges out towards the robot. Ninten used his Offense Up ability on himself and dashed towards the robot, careful not to cut himself on the scrap metal.

By the robot turned its head to face Ninten, it was too late.

With his increased strength, Ninten leaped up and rammed the sharp metal into the robot's neck, slicing its head off with a single thrust. The robot's head tumbled to the ground, and the magnets in its hands fell to the floor. The whirring of the generator stopped, leaving the room with only the sound of the robot's head rolling on the metal floor.

Ninten walked over to Lucas and the pink-haired girl. Lucas had managed to stand up and took a step forward on shaky legs. He looked up when Ninten approached, his eyes still wide with fear.

"Claus said you were dead," Lucas told him, his voice surprisingly even. "And here you are again, popping out of nowhere."

"I'm glad that you two know each other," the girl said, "But we need to keep moving."

"Is someone chasing you?" Ninten asked.

Lucas flashed a curious glance. "You still don't know anything about what's going on, do you?"

"Let's _move,_ " the girl said, placing a hand around Lucas' waist and walking him forward.

"Wait." Ninten walked over and placed a hand on Lucas' shoulder.

"Thanks," Lucas said with a wry smile, "But I think I can only cling onto one person at once."

"Lifeup," Ninten said.

Moments later, Lucas' legs stopped shaking. He looked over at Ninten and shook his head in wonder.

"You," Lucas said, "Are always full of surprises."

"Come _on._ " The girl ran towards a steel door at the end of the circular room. "I'm starting to think that you might want to see Fassad again after all."

Fassad? Ninten frowned and stored the name away in his memory.

"Coming, Kuma." Lucas ran towards the door and gestured for Ninten to follow.

The girl Lucas called Kuma opened the door to reveal an outside area, and Ninten followed her and Lucas out. As he stepped outside into the blue skies, a gust of wind battered against his face. He looked over the edge of the metal railing outside the door and gasped. He was up high enough that buildings below looked like mere dots on the landscape.

"What, are you scared of heights?" Kuma gestured to a ladder up onto a domed roof of the skyscraper. "We need to keep moving."

Ninten looked up at the yellow roof as Ninten and Kuma climbed the ladder up. A massive steel gun jutted out of the top of the dome, pointing at a village in the distance. That must have been what the generator was powering. But other than fancy machinery, Ninten couldn't pick out anything special about the dome. Certainly, there was no way to escape from here.

Ninten shrugged and climbed the ladder up to the domed roof with Lucas and Kuma. His heart raced as he stood on uneven ground; a single slip could send him tumbling all the way down to the forest below.

"All right," Ninten said. "We're here. Now what's your plan?"

Lucas and Kuma exchanged a glance.

"We… didn't really think that far in advance," Lucas said. "We were mostly trying to run away."

"And there's nothing here for us to escape in." Kuma shook her head. "Thanks for saving us from the robot in the generator room, but I don't know if it's going to matter."

"Wait," Ninten said. "You were trying to escape by running _up_ the tower?"

"We didn't have many options," Lucas said, the breeze ruffling his hair. "I'm sorry that you got dragged into this, though. Where did you come from?"

"I, uh…"

"Because it really did seem like you just _appeared_ in the room with the generator," Lucas said. "And you don't look like you have any idea what's going on."

"I really don't."

"Well." Lucas looked down at the door to the generator room below. "This here is my friend Kumatora. We met soon after you and Claus went missing."

The words hit Ninten like a punch to the gut. "You mean Claus didn't make it back?"

"Oh, he did. And then he tried to avenge your death. You can probably guess how that went."

"No." Ninten reeled back and nearly slipped. "Why would he…?"

"And I almost went with him," Lucas said. "If he hadn't told me to stay behind, I would probably be dead too."

Ninten gritted his teeth. Maybe he _should_ have chosen to go through the green door after all. If he had appeared further back in time, maybe he could have solved all of this.

"Well, you got three extra years under your belt," Kumatora said, keeping her eye trained on the open door to the generator room. "That's something, at least."

"No. I am _not_ letting you die here," Ninten said. "You're still way too young."

"I don't really think you're going to have a choice," Lucas said, still gazing warily at the entrance to the generator room.

A man wearing a brown hat stepped out of the generator room entrance into the area outside, followed by a pair of pigmasks. The man looked up at Lucas and flashed a cruel smile.

"Fassad," Lucas whispered to Ninten. "He'll try to toy with us. If he talks about trying to take us captive, we should probably jump instead."

Ninten looked into Lucas' unwavering eyes. There was no hesitation there, and no humor. Lucas fully meant every word that he said.

"PK Freeze," Kumatora said, shooting a bolt of ice towards Fassad.

"Now, now." Fassad chuckled and climbed up onto the roof along with Ninten and the others. "There's no need to be uncivil."

"What did you do with Duster and Boney?" Kumatora said, gripping her hands into fists.

"They're perfectly safe," Fassad said with a shrug, "Well, for now."

"Is that a threat?" Lucas said, his icy eyes matching his cool tone.

"There's not much use in threatening you," Fassad said. "I don't have anything I want you to do. Except maybe roll over and die. _That_ would be quite entertaining to watch."

"I'm going to _strangle_ you." Kumatora took a step forward.

The pigmasks raised their guns, but Fassad motioned for them to stand down. They nodded and walked back into the generator room, disappearing from sight.

"You, unfortunately, are capable of no such thing," Fassad said, now alone. "And, equally unfortunately, you actually made quite a mess for me."

"That was kind of our goal," Lucas said.

"Well, it makes me not want to show any mercy." Fassad frowned. "Not that I was probably going to anyway."

"That's why we're tearing through your army," Kumatora said. "We have nothing to lose."

"Ah, you misunderstand me," Fassad said. "You cannot truly hinder the pigmask army. You destroyed the generator and disabled the Thunder Tower, but we can always build another one. And really, its job has been done at this point."

"What was its job, exactly?" Ninten asked.

"Ah, Ninten." Fassad smiled. "So nice of you to join us. I've heard so many things about you. Isaac had a few… choice words in mind about you."

"I can imagine."

"How do you two know each other?" Lucas said.

"Ninten doesn't know me," Fassad said, pulling a banana out of his pocket and unpeeling it. "But I've been watching him. It only makes sense that the three of you would team up together. You all have bleeding hearts and a habit of picking the losing side."

Fassad took a bite out of his banana and grinned.

"Can we not just fight our way through this?" Ninten said, looking at Lucas and then Kumatora.

Kumatora shook her head. "Too many of them. But we might have to make a last-ditch attempt."

"You'll regret backing us into a corner, Fassad," Lucas said. "We might go down, but we're going to take as much of this tower as we can with us."

Fassad cocked his head. "No, I don't think you will. Because _I'm_ going to take this tower with us. Thank you for stalling me long enough to get my plan ready."

A steel airship flew up from below, the same sort that had landed in the Drago Plateau during Ninten's last playthrough. The airship hovered above the roof, and a hatch opened from below. A rope ladder fell down out of the airship, and Fassad walked over to the ladder.

Time to teach him a lesson for being so casual about his evil plans.

Ninten barreled forward towards Fassad, who turned his head around and flashed a knowing smile. Moments later, the Masked Man hopped out from the airship, landing on the roof with an emotionless expression. The Masked Man picked up a device from his belt and activated a plasma sword, which left burn holes in the roof as he charged towards Ninten.

Ninten halted a moment before the Masked Man rammed the plasma sword through his chest. Ninten let out a cry of pain and bashed his shoulder into the Masked Man's chest, sending the smaller boy stumbling backwards. Fassad laughed as Ninten used Lifeup to heal himself.

"I thought that you would enjoy another reunion," Fassad said, climbing up the rope ladder into the airship. "At least, a short one before I destroy this tower."

A chill ran down Ninten's spine. He _couldn't_ have heard Fassad correctly.

"That's right." Fassad laughed. "I don't care about the generator, I don't care about the tower, and I don't care about your friends trapped inside of here right now. The best part of technology is not how quickly we can build things, but how quickly we can _dispose_ of them when we no longer need them and build something else."

The Masked Man eyed Ninten, his expression remaining neutral. It hit Ninten only then that the person standing in front of him probably wasn't the same as the person who gave him 4th-D slip and introduced him to the glass box in the cosmos. After all, the Isaac Ninten had encountered last playthrough was different from the Isaac that Claus knew. Did every person in this game have another version who was aware of players and could communicate outside of the game? Fassad's knowledge of Ninten indicated that he likely understood that the world was an illusion, and the Masked Man's silence meant that his consciousness was probably contained within the game.

The airship flew up into the sky, and Fassad hung onto the rope ladder as the airship dragged him further and further away from the Thunder Tower. He smiled at Ninten and chuckled to himself.

"Isaac was an idiot," Fassad said. "He focused so much about what _he_ wanted. His desire to make you know true pain allowed you to stall and wait for an opening, and you did more permanent damage to him than you could know."

"And you're different?" Ninten said.

"Of course." Fassad's eyes widened, as if offended. "I'm not going to take any risks. Kill everyone."

The Masked Man leapt forward, his plasma sword becoming a blur as his blade cut through the air. Ninten leapt away from the Masked Man, landing on uneven footing and nearly stumbling off the Thunder Tower.

"PK Freeze."

Kumatora's words cut through the sound of the wind and the quiet hum of the Masked Man's plasma sword. A blast of ice sprayed over the Masked Man, but the mystery boy managed not to stumble as he walked towards Ninten and the others.

Ninten exchanged a glance with Lucas and Kumatora, and they all nodded. No matter who this kid was, he couldn't hope to fight them three on one.

Lucas rushed forward first, brandishing a thick stick in both hands. He ducked out of the way of a slash as Kumatora and Ninten circled around the Masked Man, surrounding him on all sides.

The Masked Man twisted and slashed with blinding speed. He darted out of the way as Kumatora lunged at him with her fists and Lucas tried to batter him with his stick. Ninten didn't have a weapon, but he would occasionally lunge in for a kick and healed the party when he had space.

Three against one wasn't fair. It _shouldn't_ have been fair. Nobody could keep track of three targets at once.

So how was Claus managing to hold off Ninten, Lucas, and Kumatora all at once with his plasma sword while hardly taking any hits himself?

Maybe it was because Lucas and Kumatora were tired, while Ninten had little combat experience himself. Kuma started off by dancing around the Masked Man and throwing in punches, but now each step she took seemed slow and heavy. Lucas' posture tired even more quickly, his arms and legs shaking under the physical exertion.

Maybe it was because the Masked Man struck with fluid motions and never seemed to tire himself. He would ward off Lucas with a slash and then swing his plasma sword around to strike Kumatora in the shoulder, all before Ninten had a chance to reach to the Masked Man's exposed position.

Either way, the Masked Man was _winning,_ and Ninten felt his psychic energy drain to a trickle.

"We have to run," Ninten said. "I don't care how many pigmasks there are, we need to-"

Lucas looked up at the sky and gasped. Ninten followed Lucas' gaze, and it didn't take him long to spot the even larger airship that was now floating above the Thunder Tower. A massive cannon on the steel airship was pointed at the roof of the Thunder Tower.

The Masked Man deactivated his plasma sword and ran towards the airship. He jumped higher than Ninten could believe and caught onto the bottom rung of the airship.

The cannon on the airship started to glow.

Ninten exchanged a glance with Kumatora and Ninten. Fassad said that he was going to destroy the tower. And the fact that the Masked Man would leave with Ninten's group on the brink of defeat meant that…

"They're going to bring the whole damn tower down with that cannon," Kuma said.

"Quick up," Ninten muttered, and darted forward.

The cannon followed Ninten as he ran towards the massive airship.

"Get inside the generator room," Ninten said, looking back at Lucas and Kumatora.

"But-" Lucas' eyes widened.

"You'll be safer there. Trust me."

Ninten didn't look back to see if Lucas and Kumatora followed his instructions. He walked forward to the edge of the Thunder Tower, looking up to see the cannon still pointed straight at him. The Masked Man dangled from below the airship, his expression emotionless as he regarded Ninten.

The airship floated up slightly higher, out of any possible reach from Ninten.

Well, this was it, then.

The airship's cannon emitted a blinding white light.

Ninten closed his eyes.

Pain washed over him the next moment, filling his mind and drowning out all other sensations.

And then…

Emptiness.

* * *

Ninten's consciousness floated in space, same as the last two times he had died in the game. And just as before, massive white letters started to appear in front of him.

 _YOUR GAMBIT PAID OFF, NINTEN._

 _AS THE THUNDER TOWER COLLAPSED, LUCAS AND KUMATORA WERE ABLE TO USE THE WALLS TO BRACE THEMSELVES AND SURVIVE THE IMPACT OF LANDING WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF DEFENSIVE PSI._

 _THEIR FRIENDS DUSTER AND BONEY, HOWEVER, WERE NOT SO LUCKY._

 _STILL, YOU MANAGED TO SAVE TWO PEOPLE THIS TIME, MORE THAN YOUR PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS._

 _BUT THEY WERE NOT THE ONES YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAVE._

 _SAVING LUCAS AND KUMATORA IS LIKE PRESERVING TWO STARS IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE. THEY ALONE COULD NOT STOP THE DARKNESS FROM SPREADING._

 _THE PIGMASKS WOULD GO ON TO CONTROL EVERY CORNER OF THE KNOWN WORLD. AND WITH THEM WOULD COME DESTRUCTION, FAMINE, AND GENOCIDE._

 _WE NEED YOU TO STOP THEM._

 _WE NEED YOU TO END THE CYCLE OF SUFFERING._

 _PLEASE… COME BACK WHEN YOU WISH TO EXPLORE MORE OF THE NOWHERE ISLANDS._

 _I'LL BE WAITING._


	8. Wishing for an End

**Oh and double upload because why not?**

 **Have a great day. :)**

* * *

Ninten awoke to the sight of the glowing stones in the Cave of the Dark Dragon. An ominous noise sounded from deeper within the cave, and its echoes almost sounded like a low laugh. Ninten looked back over at the dragon-and-islands sprite floating above the glowing stones, casting a dark silhouette on the ceiling.

What started as an adventure to understand a town and stop a forest fire had quickly become a story about rapid industrialist expansion. Finding a single terrorist and stopping a forest fire sounded feasible; quelling an entire fascist movement did not. How was Ninten supposed to stop the cycle of suffering if the pigmask army had started spinning the gears of its war machine long before the forest fire?

Ana appeared next to Ninten a moment later, her expression distant. She stared into the endless abyss next to the glowing stones, brushing aside a few stands of hair as she looked wordlessly into the pit of darkness.

"No progress?" Ninten said.

"Ness just called me," Ana said, her voice strained. "His father has lung cancer."

Ninten's heart skipped a beat. He opened his mouth, but words refused to come out.

"I feel terrible about telling him not to go back," Ana said.

A pause. The silence lasted for what felt like minutes. Ninten gulped and was able to finally find his voice.

"Well, his mom _should_ have told him about what was going on," Ninten said. "Besides, you couldn't have known."

Ana sighed. "Yeah, that's what I told myself. This must be so hard for Ness."

"And for his father, of course."

Ana hesitated before nodding. "Yes, of course. I just wish…"

"Wish what?"

"Well, Ness told me that never really knew his father that well. Apparently, his father was at work so often that sometimes wouldn't even come home for Christmas. He would sometimes talk to Ness on the phone, but Ness told me he sometimes couldn't even remember what his dad _looked_ like."

"And now…" Ninten said, afraid to finish his thought.

"His father's is die before they ever got a chance to know each other," Ana said. "And that's it. No chance to turn back time and make things right."

Ninten's mind wandered to the 4th-D slip power that had been granted to him by the Masked Man inside the Nowhere Islands V-game. If Ninten could use that power in real life, what would he do with it? Could Ness' relationship with his father be mended by turning back the hands of time?

Because with the power to travel through time, Ninten couldn't even save a fictional universe. He didn't think that he could save the real one.

"Is there no chance that his father will live?" Ninten asked.

"Ness said that the cancer had already spread to other parts of the body."

A chill ran down Ninten's spine. With a diagnosis like that, he really couldn't blame Ana for writing Ness' father off as already being dead.

"I looked up the five-year survival rate for someone with lung cancer that's metastasized," Ana said. "Do you want to guess what it is?"

Ninten looked into Ana's eyes and shied away. He looked down into his hands, counting all of the blue veins pressed against his white skin. The reminder of how fragile the human body truly was made Ninten want to hold onto each blood vessel buried beneath his skin body and never let them go.

"One percent," Ana said. "In five years, the chance of Ness' father being alive is a _single fucking percent."_

Ninten squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to take a deep breath. When the whole world was crashing down around him, at least the darkness stayed the same.

"Ninten?" Ana's voice turned concerned. "Are you all right? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine."

Ninten opened his eyes and forced himself to look at Ana as the floor lighting illuminated her from below. Ana hesitated, and then stepped forward to embrace Ninten in a hug.

Ninten was too shocked to feel Ana's hands wrapping around his back to react. After a moment, Ana started laughing.

"You really _do_ freeze when you feel threatened," she said.

"I…" Ninten gulped and hugged Ana back. "I don't feel threatened. Just surprised."

Ana laughed again. "I know, Ninten. I'm just teasing."

"I'm sorry," Ninten said.

"Sorry for what? I'm the one teasing you."

"I'm sorry that I couldn't be more of a help. To you, to Ness, to everyone."

"Ninten." Ana released him from the hug and shot him a stern look. "You're plenty helpful."

"Yeah, in what situation? You're trying to bust me out of this cave, and you've found out more about Lucas than I have. I'm just a liability in here."

"You know that's not true."

"Then tell me one way I've helped find Lucas so far."

Ana opened her mouth, and then closed it and bit her lip.

"Exactly," Ninten said. "I always need to be helped. I always need to be saved. And I can't do anything in return. Not for you, who helped me through physics and might be saving my life right now. And not for Ness, who really needs it."

"You don't need to judge yourself harshly. You're an awesome friend, you know. I always have fun studying physics together."

"But I don't _do_ anything helpful."

Ana sighed. "Well, if you want to keep talking it through we can, but I don't have much else to say."

"So you're admitting defeat."

"Well, really you are." Ana frowned. "I just hope you know that I do value you for who you are, not just as someone to save. But if you want, we can move on to practical matters."

"What practical matters are there to discuss?"

"Well, Ness isn't coming back to campus anytime soon. So unless I want to leave you alone and unconscious, I'm kind of stuck here for the night."

"Oh. That's pretty awkward."

"I hope that Ness doesn't mind if I sleep in his bed. And I also hope that he washes his sheets regularly."

"Honestly, he probably doesn't," Ninten said. "My roommate last year would sometimes sleep on his bed without sheets entirely. I never figured out why, but I don't think that keeping a clean bed would be a high priority for most college guys."

"Well, Lucas seems organized." Ana wrinkled his nose. "His bed might be cleaner. Or I can just sleep on the rug. I do feel like I could seriously pass out on the floor right now."

"Don't feel like you have to bust me out of here right this moment," Ninten said. "You'll probably perform better after a full night's sleep."

"Nah, I got…" Ana yawned, "I got this. Just you wait and see."

Ninten raised an eyebrow.

"Hey." Ana placed her hands on her hips. "I'm still perfectly functional, you know. A bit of fatigue isn't going to stop me from getting you out of this dingy cave."

"If you insist." Ninten frowned. "Did you find anything out about Lucas?"

"Oh, right." Ana cocked her head. "I forgot when Ness messaged me. There are passages in the data file that strongly imply that Lucas isn't here legally."

"Like… here in America?"

"Yeah, nobody questions him because he's White, but he's definitely an illegal immigrant."

"And yet he's enrolled in a college."

"It happens," Ana said, "Although it's not exactly common."

"He also speaks English without an accent. Why would he need to come here illegally? I would guess that any country he comes from would be pretty developed."

"Yeah, it's strange." Ana shrugged. "But what isn't strange about this whole mess? Honestly, I'm starting to think he might have gotten captured and deported. If you told me that yesterday I would have been furious, but if it means he's alive…"

"But all of his stuff is still here," Ninten said. "Well, not _here,_ but in his room."

"Maybe he's working things out with law enforcement and he'll come back and get his stuff later. It wouldn't be the first time that the police detained someone without cause."

Ninten frowned. He didn't think that the situation was all that likely, but he didn't want to crush Ana's hope.

"Look, I get that it's a stretch," Ana said. "But it's not like people really get murdered all that often here, either. I'm still trying to look into Lucas' past, but what I'm finding is that it's all _in_ the past. He hardly has records of anything before he moved to America; I can't even tell where he immigrated from. There's nothing in here that would make him a target for a murderer."

Not all murders were thought out. Ninten thought about saying those words, but decided against it.

"What about you?" Ana said. "Did you learn anything about Lucas from the V-game?"

Ninten recounted his most recent playthrough. Ana listened, nodding along at the mundane details and sneering when Ninten talked about Fassad and the pigmasks.

"Whoever made that V-game needs to fucking chill," Ana said. "I don't really see how any of that will lead us to Lucas, and his psyspace keeps getting stranger and stranger each time we look. Are you going to play the game another time?"

Ninten nodded. "I should probably try to tease more information out of the Masked Man. I know he's scared of letting his secrets slip. One of them might help us understand the circumstances surrounding Lucas' disappearance. At this point, it's my best shot."

"All right. I don't know if I trust the Masked Man, but it _does_ sound like whatever you do in the game won't make you a target in real life. I hope you come back with useful information, but it's okay if you don't."

The concern in Ana's eyes echoed their earlier conversation about not wanting Ninten to feel useless. She _knew_ that exploring the V-game was Ninten's one way of feeling useful. And she probably guessed that if he didn't come back with any information, he would blame himself again.

And frankly, she was probably right about all of it.

"All right," Ninten said. "I'll keep that in mind, and I'll try not to judge myself based on my results. If the V-game ends up being nothing more than a V-game, then it's hardly my fault."

A relieved smile crossed over Ana's face. It amazed Ninten that even though he could travel through time in the Nowhere Islands V-game, Ana seemed to have a much firmer grasp on their own futures in real life.

"And I'll also keep in mind," Ninten said. "That I have a wonderful, supportive friend cheering for me as she tries to rush in like a knight in shining armor and save me."

Ninten took a deep breath, walked over to the dragon-and-islands sprite, and placed his hand on the dragon's head. He looked back to see Ana giving him a nod of approval. A moment later, she smiled and waved goodbye.

Ninten closed his eyes and transferred his consciousness into the V-game for a fourth time.

* * *

 _THE YEAR IS 20XX. WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS THE LAST REMNANT OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION._

 _THE PEOPLE YOU WILL MEET DO NOT KNOW WHY THE REST OF THE WORLD WAS DESTROYED, OR EVEN HOW. THEY NEVER KNEW THAT A REAL "WORLD" EVEN EXISTED._

 _THE NOWHERE ISLANDS ARE THE ONLY OASIS IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INFINITE DESERT._

 _AND THEY ARE ABOUT TO BE DESTROYED._

 _WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS REAL. IT IS THE FUTURE._

 _AND IT IS THE PAST._

 _YOU WILL SEE THE SAME TRAGEDIES REPEAT THEMSELVES AGAIN AND AGAIN._

 _YOU WILL COME ACROSS PEOPLE WHO ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT THE CYCLE OF SUFFERING._

 _YOU ARE THEIR ONLY HOPE._

 _SAVE ONE PERSON, AND BREAK THE CYCLE._

 _THAT IS YOUR QUEST._

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _WELCOME TO THE NOWHERE ISLANDS._

* * *

This time, Ninten took a breath of fresh air when he entered the world of the Nowhere Islands.

He stood inside the same glass cube as before, the stars shimmering around him in all directions. Ninten pressed his hands against the glass and looked at the clusters of lights twinkling off in the direction of infinity. It amazed Ninten how a universe so vast and empty could have so much _light_ coming from a few beacons in a sea of darkness.

"I'll never get old of the sight," came the Masked Man's voice from behind him.

Ninten turned around to see the boy staring down at the stars through the glass floor, his expression unreadable behind his mask.

"I assume you're not going to try and kill me?" Ninten said.

"The person you saw last playthrough was a different version of me that's stuck inside the timeline of the game. The person you see in front of you right now is a little more… real. Although I do wonder how different I really am from the mindless robot you saw at the Thunder Tower."

"Why do you say that?"

The Masked Man paused, and then cocked his head. "Again, I really shouldn't be giving away more information than I need to. But, well… how do you know that you're real?"

"I don't usually think about it," Ninten said.

"Let's say you were trapped in this game forever," The Masked Man said, "And another version of you started running around the Nowhere Islands, unaware that the entire thing was a simulation. Does that other version of you… have a claim to being _you?_ "

"I don't think so, but he still might be Ninten."

"There's a distinction?"

"In my mind, there is. He can be Ninten. I can be Ninten. That doesn't make us the same. That doesn't make him _me._ "

"And is the other Ninten… real?"

"In a way, I think so." Ninten shrugged. "I mean, he's programmed with code, and we're programmed with DNA. I don't see much of a difference."

"What makes you so sure that 'we' are? How do you know that I exist in flesh and blood?"

"A hunch. I could be wrong."

"Hmm." The Masked Man frowned. "You are a strange person. This _is_ just a game, after all. But games can have real consequences. If you manage to beat the game and stop the cycle of suffering…" The Masked Man cocked his head. "Yes, I think I can promise this. If you beat the game, I'll tell you where Lucas is."

Ninten froze in place, his eyes glued to the Masked Man.

"That's what you're looking for, isn't it?" the Masked Man said. "That's why you hacked into Lucas' Magicant in the first place."

"Well, Ana was the one to hack into the psyspace," Ninten said, "But yeah. You know for sure that Lucas is alive?"

The Masked Man hesitated, and Ninten's heart sank into his stomach.

"What is it?" Ninten said.

"Well, I knew that he was two days ago, a few hours after he disappeared," The Masked Man said. "He built a portal to his Magicant, several miles away from where he normally uses it."

"He… _built_ a portal? By himself?"

"I think so, yeah." The Masked Man looked up at Ninten. "Why is that so surprising?"

"It's just not possible."

"And why do you say that?

"Well, making a portal to the psyspace is dangerous unless a professional does it. And only someone with years of PSI experience can make portals in the first place. What you're telling me is like saying that Lucas was able to perform heart surgery on a patient with the knowledge of a few months in undergrad." Ninten paused. "And Lucas can't even use PSI. So it's physically impossible."

The Masked Man frowned. "What makes you think Lucas can't use PSI?"

"He failed the PSI test at the university. I mean…" Ninten sighed. "I know everyone can _use_ PSI, but Lucas' psychic ability evidently aren't that powerful."

"Huh." The Masked Man shook his head. "Well, I'm just telling you what happened. Maybe someone else did help him, but the signature looked like his. I don't know where he's been since then, but if I can direct you to where he accessed his Magicant then you'll get a pretty big head start."

"Did he access his psyspace more than once from the location?"

"No. He just came in a single time to drop off a giant data file."

Ninten made a "hmph" sound, closing his eyes to try and keep himself from getting a headache. Every time he looked at Lucas' disappearance, the circumstances made less and less sense. If the Masked Man was telling the truth, then Lucas hadn't been murdered—at least, not right away. But maybe Lucas _had_ been whisked away by law enforcement like Ana thought. That would give him time to download a file to his psyspace like the Masked Man said.

"Would you be willing to tell me what the file was?" Ninten said.

Instead of outright saying "no" like Ninten expected, the Masked Man bit his lip. "I can't really see too far outside of the V-game. We were able to piece together that Lucas downloaded a large file, but we don't know where it is or what it looks like."

Well, the Masked Man had no reason to lie when he could have rejected Ninten outright. Ninten made a mental note to mention the file to Ana. If she could find the file by its last modified date, maybe she would be able to figure out what Lucas was doing when he disappeared.

"Anyways," Ninten said, looking at the four colored doors around him. "I should probably go back to exploring the Nowhere Islands, right? I need to figure out Lucas' location before something bad happens to him. For all I know, he could be in danger this exact moment."

Ninten looked into the Masked Man's eyes as he spoke those words. The Masked Man moved his head in an almost imperceptible shake.

"It is not my decision to require you to beat the game, and I apologize for that condition," the Masked Man said. "If it were up to me, I would tell you where Lucas is right now. I care about his safety just as much as you do. But I don't actually know where Lucas built the portal to his Magicant. I just know someone who does."

"Well, thanks for trying to help me out anyway," Ninten said. "I do hope that this person you know is cooperative, though."

"That's always the hope." The Masked Man sighed. "Either way, I'll be sad to see you go. And I'll be sad that I…" he trailed off, frowning.

"You'll be sorry about what?"

"Nothing," The Masked Man said. "But… I do wish that things could be different. I'm just not sure I know how to be anything other than a pawn in someone else's game."

"You always lived that way?"

The Masked Man looked away, his gaze directed at the twinkling stars in the distance. "It's hard to remember a time before. The mindless robot who tried to kill you in the Thunder Tower isn't so different from how I was. And maybe it's not that different from how I still am."

"Well, you said that you care about Lucas. That seems like a pretty big change to me."

"And is it enough to _care_ if I don't do anything?"

The Masked Man placed his hands over his chest, leaning over as if crying silently. When Ninten looked at the Masked Man's cheeks, though, he didn't see any tears running down.

"Sometimes, we can't do anything," Ninten said. "You know, I was always did well in school and made nice friends, but I'm starting to realize only now that it was through no merit of my own. I came from a rich family, and I was set up for success ever since I was adopted. On the flip side, society sets some people up for failure. If I had stayed in the orphanage, I don't think I would ever have learned how to love. The fact that you still care about Lucas tells me that you're _trying_ to fight back. And really, that's all we can do."

The Masked Man didn't respond for several moments, and Ninten was starting to wonder if the boy had heard him.

"This is making my head hurt," the Masked Man finally said. "I was never good at thinking. Only doing. And now my actions mean nothing. The Nowhere Islands are doomed, no matter what I do."

"But we should still try to save them," Ninten said.

"I admire your spirit." The Masked Man looked back over at Ninten. "I recommend going into the purple door next. I think it will give you an idea of exactly what's at stake."

"So I shouldn't go back into the green door and see what happened right after the fire?"

"I think you've probably pieced together what happened. First, the pigmasks came with gold for the adults and toys for the children. Fassad was everyone's best friend. But the pigmasks inserted themselves more and more into Tazmily, until eventually they brought in their military and ruled the town with an iron fist."

"That sounds like the stories I heard about the terrorist and religious extremist groups running around," Ninten said.

"Even when the world changes, people do not." The Masked Man looked up through the glass ceiling at the stars above. "It's a common strategy among authoritarian regimes. Bring the carrot out first, and brandish the stick once they have people too close to run away."

"And in the V-game, it tore apart so many lives."

The Masked Man nodded. "It always amazes me how much evil a single regime can accomplish. I think that most people in the moment focus on their own situations so much that they can't see how authorities like the pigmask regime are tearing apart society itself. I only really understood the pain and suffering of Tazmily when I was able to travel through time and see its descent into darkness."

"But we're going to stop it," Ninten said.

"You can certainly try. I'm not really supposed to help you. But…"

"But what?"

"Well, I think that you deserve to know who I am. Maybe that will help, in its own way."

The Masked Man took off his helmet, revealing a face with blue eyes and red hair that bounced straight up the moment the helmet was removed. Ninten felt his body stiffen.

"Claus," Ninten said. "What _happened_ to you?"

"The person you saw at the Thunder Tower was brainwashed by the pigmask army," Claus said, tossing his helmet aside. "He doesn't remember his own name, and he _certainly_ doesn't remember you or Lucas."

"Claus…" tears blurred Ninten's vision. "And you said you're not so different from him."

"Yes. But I'm in a better place now."

"You say that like you're already dead."

Claus looked away. "Ninten, please go into the purple door. See what we're trying to avoid. And see what cannot be stopped."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ninten said. "But I'll find a way to stop it from hurting people. I'll visit the same place again and again if I have to, until I make things right."

"I wish it were that easy." Claus looked down through the glass floor. "Please, go. Before I say something I'll regret later."

Ninten nodded and walked over to the purple door. He turned the glass doorknob and thrust open the door, looking back at Claus as light started to engulf his vision.

He saw a single tear rolling down each of Claus' cheeks before the glass box faded away from existence.

* * *

Mountain ranges did their best to blot out the sky on either side of Ninten. In the tiny valley between the steep slopes, Ninten spotted a number of cylindrical white houses surrounding a crystal-blue pond. Ninten closed his eyes and took a moment to check where he was on the map.

Saturn Valley.

Ninten frowned, opening his eyes and walking towards the white houses. Almost immediately, he spotted a pigmask exiting one of the houses and hid behind a rock formation. Further in the distance, the same large airship with the cannon that destroyed the Thunder Tower landed on a higher ledge.

Ninten knew nothing about this place or its original inhabitants. But seeing the same pieces fall into place gave Ninten a sense of déjà vu. He didn't know if the airship was used for transportation along with combat, but he figured it was quite likely that the airship was brought in as military support.

Which begged the question of who the pigmasks were fighting.

Ninten walked out from behind the stone formation where he was hiding. In the pigmasks' eyes he was just a civilian, so long as he acted casually. He could probably get the run-down from them and figure out what Claus had meant when he said that Ninten would discover what he was trying to avoid.

"Hey." A gruff voice came from behind. "What are you doing here?"

Ninten whirled around to see a pigmask pointing its laser gun straight at him. Ninten hesitated, and then slowly raised his hands.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot you right now," the pigmask said.

"I'm just a regular person. I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"If that were the case, then you wouldn't be in Saturn Valley."

Ninten frowned, trying to ignore the voices in his head screaming for him to run away. He got the sensation that any further talk would dig himself into an even deeper hole. Ninten might have to fight his way out of this situation before it got out of hand.

"He's with me," came a woman's voice.

Ninten looked over to see another pigmask marching towards the first. She walked over to Ninten and examined him for a few moments. With a sigh, she grabbed onto his arm.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go. I promise that it won't be painful if you just do what you're told."

Every instinct in Ninten's body told him that something was _wrong_ here, but he didn't make any sudden movements. The first pigmask lowered his gun, and the woman pigmask started to leave him away. Why would she lie about having seen Ninten before?

"You're too soft," the first pigmask said. "If you just give your subjects a little more… encouragement, they'll do whatever you want them to."

"I want the truth," the woman pigmask said, "Rather than whatever false confessions torture would give me. This could be vital information that King P. would want me to get right."

The first pigmask snorted. "Like King P. would ever bother with you."

The woman shrugged, still holding Ninten in her iron grip. "One can only hope, soldier. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an interrogation to continue. A _humane_ interrogation, I might add."

The woman pigmask gave Ninten's arm a yank, and led him off towards a nearby cave. The male pigmask shrugged and walked off, putting his laser gun back into his holster. After he left, the woman's grip relaxed ever so slightly.

"Just a little further," she whispered, "And then I'll explain everything."

The pigmask led Ninten into the cave and through a maze of twisting tunnels.

"The pigmasks used this to mine for coal," the woman said, "But they stopped a while ago."

"Because they found another place to get coal from?"

"Yeah, you could say so. They discovered it's easier to blast mountains apart and collect the coal than it is to send miners in. It turns the rivers black, but I doubt the people of New Pork City will even be able to tell at this point."

So the pigmasks were "they," not "we."

"Do I know you?" Ninten asked.

The pigmask stiffened. "Just a bit further."

That was about as conclusive of a "yes" as Ninten could think of.

After a few more minutes, the pigmask and Ninten hit a dead end. The pigmask released a sigh, her posture relaxing as she released Ninten's hand. She grunted and pulled the pig mask off of her head to reveal a face marked by a curious expression and signature pink hair.

"Long time no see, Ninten," Kumatora said. "I thought you were dead."

"I thought I was as well. But sometimes, life has a way to keep on going."

"Tell that to Duster. Tell that to Boney."

"They were the ones who died in the Thunder tower, Right? I'm sorry I couldn't save them."

"I don't blame you." Kumatora's eyes narrowed. "But I also don't think that life just keeps on going and everything turns out well in the end. We all just got lucky and they didn't."

"I guess that's fair."

"And even Lucas' luck ran out."

Ninten raised an eyebrow. "You don't mean…"

"Dead." Kumatora waved a hand. "Saw it happen years ago."

"Oh." Ninten looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry."

"Again, not really your fault." Kumatora paused. "How much do you know about what's happening?"

"Nothing at all."

Kumatora shot Ninten a skeptical glance. After a moment, she sighed and crossed her arms. "You're not joking."

"Dead serious."

"Well." Kumatora walked over to the cavern wall and sat down. "I have a lot to tell you, then."

Ninten nodded and sat down next to Kumatora. "Talk away. I don't have anything better to do."

"The first think you should know is that we're not going to win this. We either lose, or we lose _spectacularly._ I'm still not entirely sure which one I want to happen."

"Surely there's still some hope."

"There's always hope." Kumatora flashed a wry smile. "But the hope now is less about redemption and more about and end."

"An end to what?"

"Depends who you ask." Kumatora looked up at the ceiling. "Have you ever heard the myth about the Seven Needles and the Dark Dragon?"

Ninten shook his head.

"I didn't think so," Kumatora said. "Lucas told me you weren't from here. You probably don't know, then, that many people worship the Dark Dragon as a god. Well, they used to. Not so much anymore, since the pigmasks showed up. But while we speak of the Dark Dragon as one entity, it's always depicted as a pair of dragons, intertwined in a circle."

"So a little like Yin and Yang?"

Kumatora raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what those mean, so sure. But the Dark Dragon is _real,_ and it was held dormant by seven Needles in the ground. Its body makes up the islands. And once those needles are pulled, whoever pulled the most passes their heart onto the Dark Dragon."

Ninten frowned. "What does that mean?"

"The Dark Dragon gave us life on these islands. But the Needles were necessary to keep it asleep since it also had the capacity to destroy the entire world. Maybe even the part of the world that you're from."

Ninten paused, and for a moment the only sound in the caves was the dripping of water.

"And this is all real?" Ninten said.

"Yes. Whoever pulls the needles _becomes_ the dragon, in a way. And depending on the nature of their heart, they can destroy the world and remake it in their own image. Or destroy the world and not remake it at all." Kumatora shrugged. "At least, that's what the Magypsies told us."

"And you're trying to pull those needles?"

Kumatora chuckled. "My heart would only lead us to destruction, Ninten. Besides, it's all too late."

"Hmm?"

"The only people who can pull the needles are those with access to the PK Love ability, which was only two people in the world. Fortunately, one of them was Lucas. Unfortunately, the other one was the Masked Man we saw at the Thunder Tower."

"Claus." Ninten stood up. "That makes sense."

"You knew?" Kumatora snorted. "You could have told us."

"I… figured it out afterwards. But you said Lucas is dead, right? So the Masked Man is the only one who can pull the Needles?"

"He already did." Kumatora offered a helpless shrug. "We fought him over the last Needle. Lucas knew who he was and couldn't bring himself to fight his own brother. So Claus killed him and pulled the last Needle."

Ninten inhaled sharply. Lucas' death shouldn't have been spoken about so _casually._

"And then?" Ninten said.

"Well, and then _nothing._ Claus pulled the last Needle, passed his heart onto the Dark Dragon, and nothing happened."

"So the myth wasn't real after all."

"That's what I told myself at first. But Claus' heart _did_ pass on. He lay limp for minutes, not breathing or speaking. His heart never returned to his body, and he died soon after Lucas. I think…" Kumatora looked up at the ceiling. "I think that Claus' heart wasn't really good or evil. It was just _empty._ So the Dark Dragon didn't destroy the world, and it didn't save the world. It just did nothing."

"Oh."

"I wish it had done either," Kumatora said. "At this point, I don't even care which. I said that these days, people were only hoping for an end. The kind of end that I hope for is the end of the world."

Ninten recoiled back. He stared at Kumatora wordlessly, wondering if he had heard her correctly.

"You haven't seen all the pain and suffering, so I don't expect you to understand," Kumatora said, "But at some point, it just has to _end._ The pigmasks keep taking things from us. They tear apart our families, tear apart our passions, tear apart the very _air_ that we breathe, and eventually even our memories of a better life wear out. There are thousands of kids right now who only ever knew the polluted air and soulless labor of New Pork City. They'll think that what they're living through is _normal._ I don't think the pigmasks can take anything else from them, Ninten. What's the point of living if you never even learned how to love?"

"That's a question I ask myself often," Ninten said, thinking back to his orphanage. "And I wonder if I would have been like the people you describe if my life had gone a little differently."

"Then you know what it's like to grow hard and cold, to watch the colors fade around you until everything looks the same dull hue."

"I'm not sure if I do. But I think I can imagine it."

Kumatora stood up and closed her eyes. "I want to die, Ninten. I want all of this to be _over._ For me, and for everyone. It will be a mercy."

Ninten gulped. What could he tell her? That life was worth living, even during its rough patches? Kumatora had made it clear that he didn't know what she had seen, so his words would sound ignorant.

"Do you still know love, Kumatora?" Ninten asked.

"Everyone and everything I loved is gone."

"And you can't make new ones?"

"I think the world has beaten it out of me," Kumatora said. "I don't think I understand what it means to care. I'm sorry if you do, and you still want to save the world. But the best I can do is help it burn. The fire is warm, you know. I would rather burn at the stake than live with this coldness in my heart."

"And what are you going to do," Ninten said, slowly, "To help the world burn?"

"I'm going to kill every single pigmask in Saturn Valley," Kumatora said, "And then I'll go from there. Are you with me?"

Ninten looked at Kumatora, unable to stare past the icy fire in her eyes. She was dead serious about slaughtering every single pigmask she could get her hands on, and her stare was daring Ninten to challenge her.

"I'll help you fight pigmasks for now," Ninten said, choosing his words carefully, "And then I'll go from there."


	9. The End Goal of Fascism

**Hey, everyone. :)**

 **Anyways, this chapter is especially cheery (sarcasm), and takes place entirely within the Nowhere Islands V-game. I wasn't expecting it to turn out as 6.6k words pre-AN, but I always write more than I'm expecting to. Don't worry, we'll get some more supportive/sweet moments outside the V-game. :) After all, Claus did send Ninten into this timeframe to witness what needs to be stopped.**

 **As always, thanks for everyone who's reviewed this story. I don't know if I'd be here without you peeps. :)**

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 **Review Responses (plural yay):**

 **booping the snoot:** Heh, Lucas' actions will (hopefully) all make sense in the end. And I found that I felt bad for Claus as well while writing this story... and I felt a little less bad for Isaac and Fassad haha.

 **asamiruria:** Aw, thanks! :3 And with the amount of time it's been since Power of Love's been updated, I don't know if we consider it happening within the "for a while" timeframe. Sorry, PKTofuMaster. :P Writing Ana in this story is SO much fun, and I'm glad you like her. She started off being quite similar to someone I know, but I think she's kind of gone her own direction. Unfortunately, Ana's still a side character and doesn't really get character arcs in the same way that Ninten does. :( I just don't have time to have everyone resolve all their problems haha. I'm glad that you like the psyspace mechanic as well. :) Basically, I wanted computers and internet (psyweb) for an alternate PSI culture, and the idea of psyspaces stuck. Prior to reading this I read some really good sci-fi about an information-era (not too futuristic) civilization and I wanted to give it a try for myself.

As for the Mother 3 world... well, this fic for the most part is set in the Earth we know and love (or hate). Most of the fantastical elements in the Mother series work better because the protags or kids... it wouldn't make as much sense thematically for college-age Ninten and Ana going to the _real_ Nowhere Islands and encountering Magypsies and all that. So Ninten and Ana, despite the shit they've seen, still think that the Nowhere Islands are just part of a game. But the game does say that the Nowhere Islands _are_ real, and that they're in both the future and past. Haha Ana is flippant about racism and police brutality because she's just with Ninten and they're homies. She recognizes that police brutality and racism are super serious issues and wouldn't joke about them with people she didn't know. But when college students get together, we tend to say offensive things. :P And I believe different publishing/citation standards have different formats on capitalizing races... for example, in APA format it's standard to capitalize races such as White and Black. So I'm just going to leave it that way.

Thanks for the support! :D

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Kumatora's first plan of action was to kill a pigmask and use the suit to disguise Ninten. They waited for what felt like hours to ambush a pigmask in the mines. When a pork trooper finally walked by, Kumatora knocked it out with a fist to the back of a head and took its pig suit off.

And then, in accordance with her plan to throw the world into chaos, Kumatora slit his throat with a dagger.

Ninten stepped away from the blood as he put on the pig suit. It reeked of sweat and grease, the stench so strong that Ninten nearly gagged. He looked over at Kumatora for help, and she chuckled.

"You'll get used to it," she said.

"Will I really?" Ninten coughed and nearly gagged a second time.

Kumatora shrugged. "Maybe eventually."

At least the suit was loose. Ninten supposed that it would have to be in order to fit the plump man that had previously worn the suit. When Ninten was finished putting the suit on, Kumatora eyed him down and nodded.

"I think we both look a little skinny for pigmasks," she said, "But there's not a whole lot we can do about that. Come on."

Kumatora led Ninten out of the mines through the same twisted pathways. After emerging back in Saturn Valley, Ninten spotted a group of pigmasks congregating between the white houses around the central pond. A pigmask with a white suit spoke words that Ninten couldn't make out from the distance, a white cape flapping in the wind behind the pigmask to make him look extra-official.

"That's the colonel," Kumatora whispered to Ninten. "Treat him with respect until I can wrap my hands around his neck and squeeze."

Ninten nodded, trying not to focus on the image of Kumatora strangling someone. He didn't know how long he was willing to fight by Kumatora's side if she really wanted to watch the world go up in flames, but the pigmasks _were_ occupying this area. Killing the pigmasks now would liberate whoever Saturn Valley belonged to.

The caped colonel waved Kumatora and Ninten over to the pond. Ninten exchanged a glance with Kumatora, who shrugged and walked over to the pond next to the other pigmasks. Ninten followed Kumatora and stood by her side, trying to blend in as much as possible. The image of Kumatora tearing off her pigmask suit and lunging at the colonel popped into Ninten's head, and he wondered if he would freeze when Kumatora choose to make her move.

"Welcome," the colonel said. A woman's voice, most likely. "And thank you for mustering the garrison during this time. I heard that it's gotten a little… boring around here?"

The pigmasks nodded, and Ninten bobbed his head along with them. Kumatora remained still, her gaze directed at the pigmask colonel.

Ninten couldn't blame her. There was something in the colonel's tone that sent a tingling sensation down Ninten's spine. He hoped that she wouldn't try to remedy the boredom by creating unnecessary _excitement_ in the Saturn Valley, so to speak.

"Once we found the Needle, there was little need for this place," the colonel said. "And really, there still is little need for this place. I don't think that we ever understood who the Mr. Saturns are or what they do, and we no longer have a reason to care. It's time to terminate our occupation of Saturn Valley."

Many of the pigmasks' postures relaxed. Ninten tried to picture what was on their minds. Maybe they were excited to see their families again, or maybe they just wanted to go back to the routine they had known before in New Pork City. It was almost enough to make Ninten feel bad for them.

"Should we release the Mr. Saturns, sir?" one of the pigmasks asked.

Say yes. Please. Ninten stared at the colonel, trying to read an expression through her mask.

"They are free to come and go, yes?" the colonel cocked her head. "I was informed that you were using fear to keep them cooped up inside their houses. Once we leave, they'll be free to do whatever they wish with their pitiful lives."

Kumtatora's shoulders tightened. Ninten glanced back and forth between her and the colonel.

"We can all go back to New Pork City in the Mothership," the colonel said. "I'm sure that King P. will have new assignments for us there. The pigmasks always could use more helpful hands back at home. And on the way there…"

The colonel paused for several moments, looking up at the clouds in the sky.

"Sir?" Kumatora said.

"Hmm?"

"What is going to happen on the way there?"

"I need to tell you some information. You deserve that much, I suppose." The colonel turned around, her cape whipping behind her. "Pack up your belongings and meet me at the Mothership in two hours."

The pigmasks nodded, saluted, and walked off. Many of them walked into the cylindrical white houses scattered around the valley. Kumatora didn't budge, staring straight at the colonel. Ninten took tentative steps backwards, but Kumatora remained perfectly still. After a moment, the colonel looked back at Kumatora and cocked her head.

"Is something wrong, soldier?" she asked.

"No," Kumatora said. "This is… excellent news."

"I'm glad to hear it. Just as I am glad to hear the voice of another woman among our ranks. I looked at the register, and I didn't see any names that looked like they should belong to a woman. What's your name?"

"Violet. I transferred here recently, Sir." The words came out even colder than before.

The colonel nodded. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, then, Violet. Just be careful, soldier. There are some commanders who are… less trusting than I am. They'll study the registers almost religiously, and would act on Title XIII. And of course, being a _true_ pigmask, you know what means."

"Of course, sir."

"Yes. So please… if you're working under another colonel, tell them about anyone else you see who's off the registers. I'm sure that you know that we are _required_ to treat them as impostors."

Kumatora nodded.

"Although I'm sure you're a good enough pigmask to _never_ let something like that slip." The colonel glanced at Ninten. "Some of the people who wish to infiltrate our ranks come from different words, and they have motives that we cannot possibly fathom. And while I know we give you a bunch of empty propaganda, I can promise you that what I'm telling you now about our enemy is _real._ "

Ninten felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. She had to know. Which meant…

"Yes, sir," Kumatora said.

"I'll make sure that your name's added to the registers once we get back to New Pork City," the colonel said.

"Thank you, sir."

"Now scram and get packing. Even someone who transferred here should have _some_ belongings, hmm?"

Kumatora saluted and walked back off towards the cave. Ninten followed, his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn't bring himself to look back at the colonel to see what she was doing.

She _had_ to know.

Kumatora walked into the caves, and found a dead end in an abandoned mineshaft. She released a sigh and reached to take off her mask. Ninten shook his head and grabbed Kumatora's hand.

"We need to be perfect pigmasks until the time is right," Ninten said. "She _knows,_ Kuma."

"The colonel?" Kumatora frowned. "If she knew who we were, she wouldn't have let us go. She probably just thinks that we're eager recruits who haven't officially joined the ranks yet."

"Eager recruits who _already have pigsuits?_ " Ninten looked down the mineshaft to make sure nobody was listening. "Listen, every word she spoke was hinting that she knew that we were impostors, but that she didn't want to say it out loud."

Kumatora took off her mask and took a deep breath of air. She grinned at Ninten, as if to tell him that he had no way of forcing her to put the mask back on.

"Kuma, please," Ninten said. "They already suspect us."

Kumatora frowned. "Okay, maybe they suspect us, but nothing more. I've seen how pigmasks deal with impostors. Once they know, they lose their _shit._ "

"And did the colonel seem like a regular pigmask to you?"

"Uh, yeah? She called the Mr. Saturns pathetic. Do you know how smart they are? Sure, they can be a bit odd at times and they don't dedicate much of their time to labor, but people who _are_ normal and _do_ dedicate their time to work are all pigmasks by now. It's just like them to treat the Mr. Saturns as lesser race."

"Yeah, I get that, but…" How could Ninten explain? "She seemed too aware."

"Aware?" Kumatora frowned. "Of what?"

"She seemed to know about me. How I came from a world outside the Nowhere Islands and all."

Kumatora shrugged. "Glorifying outsiders and portraying them as almost literal aliens is standard pigmask rhetoric."

"I know." Ninten _hadn't_ known, not really, but it was easy enough to infer.

Kumatora frowned. "If you knew, then why did you tell me?"

"Because I get the feeling that she knows way more than she's letting on."

Kumatora rolled her eyes. "Well, _I_ get the feeling that she's just a regular pigmask colonel. So our impressions cancel out and now we're back to square one."

"You know how at the Thunder Tower, Fassad got a little abstract?"

Kumatora raised an eyebrow.

"He talked about industrialism as a whole, how the pigmasks could create and destroy anything they wanted, et cetera."

"Mm hmm."

"All he needed to do was kill a few kids. But he seemed to understand exactly what industrialism meant for the pigmask army with the insight of a historian."

"Meaning?"

"He's more aware than he should have been. He knew me, he knew that I had seen the Masked Man before, and he understood the effects of a combined industrialism and totalitarianism with stunning clarity. Because where I come from, the industrial machine of fascism wasn't really used to create. It was used to destroy. It destroyed buildings, lives, and it almost destroyed entire cultures. Fassad knew that the pigmasks weren't _really_ creating a new world order. They were taking everything that wasn't useful and burning it to the ground."

"Yeah, they did quite a bit of that. But Fassad is dead. What's your point?"

"I see that same sort of insight in this colonel. I think she's a little better at hiding it, but I think she understands _exactly_ what's going on, with the pigmasks and with us. She always seems collected and in control, like she's been planning out this entire sequence of events for years."

And if she was another person like Fassad or Isaac who understood that the Nowhere Islands was just a V-game, she _could_ have planned this out for years. Every instinct in Ninten's body screamed for him to run away and forget that the colonel ever existed.

"Okay, let's say you're right," Kumatora said. "What exactly would change? The colonel can know who I am and still die to my fists."

Ninten frowned. He didn't want to call Kumatora naïve, but the colonel would obviously prepare for whatever Kumatora had in store. To underestimate reconnaissance and intelligence during wartime seemed like an almost criminal offense for someone wanting to fight the entire pigmask army.

"I'm still not sure if we should mess around with the her," Ninten said. "I think she's going to lead us into a trap."

"Well, if that's the case then you don't have to come with me," Kumatora said. "I won't blame you."

And there it was. Kumatora had called his bluff with the ultimatum. Claus had brought Ninten here for a reason, and even ignoring him Ninten knew that he couldn't leave Kumatora to die alone. Ninten sighed, and Kumatora smiled. She knew that she had him.

He just wished that he could explain to Kumatora that even after a short conversation with the colonel, he was more scared of her than he had been of Fassad, Isaac, or the Mecha-Drago.

"We're both going to die," Ninten said, burying his face with his hands.

"Quit whining. We all die eventually, so we might as well make sure we go out with a bang."

"All right, fine." Ninten shook his head. "I just hope it's not a _literal_ bang."

"Hey, our odds at the Thunder Tower were probably worse and we all survived that."

"Yeah, but I would have run away from Fassad and the Masked Man if I could have."

"Glad to know that I have such a brave companion," Kumatora said.

"There's a fine line between brave and stupid. And I feel like right now, I'm _well_ past that line and over onto the stupid side. But I might as well get this over with."

Kumatora raised an eyebrow. "We still need to wait two hours."

Ninten closed his eyes and cycled through his power… yep, there it was. Looked like his idea would work.

"Hold my hand," Ninten said.

"What?"

"Just do it."

Kumatora sighed and gripped Ninten's hand, the padded gloves of the pig suit doing little to soften her iron grip.

"4th-D slip," Ninten said.

The world blurred around Ninten, space stretching and compressing like a longitudinal wave. After a few moments, the world rematerialized around him.

"I moved us forward in time," Ninten said, walking away from the mineshaft's dead end. "Let's go. The colonel will be expecting us any minute now."

"So is _this_ why you disappear for years and show up at the most random moments?" Kumatora said, fitting her pig mask back on her face. "You just… travel forward in time?"

"Yeah."

"And you can't travel back?"

"Not really, no."

"Must be frustrating as hell. If you were there with us at the final battle against the Masked Man, maybe the Nowhere Islands would have turned out differently."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's not your fault. Really, I don't think there's much you could have done against the Masked Man's lightning attacks anyway. I'm just daydreaming at this point. We put all of our hopes in the fairy tale of the Dark Dragon, and I'm only realizing now that it was because we were so desperate. We couldn't see that the world was meant to go up in flames."

Kumatora squeezed past Ninten in the narrow mineshaft and took the lead, and after that line Ninten decided it would be best not to complain. Kumatora led Ninten through the mineshaft and back into the cave area, and soon after they exited back into the sunlit realm of Saturn Valley.

The Mothership was landed right over the pond, the only place big enough for the airship in the main part of the valley occupied with houses. The colonel stood at the airship's entrance, eyeing the pigmasks as they walked in.

"So I guess your time travel actually works," Kumatora said. "At least you can get through the boring parts of your day more quickly, I guess."

"If I want to use my psychic energy for time travel, anyway."

The colonel spotted Kumatora and offered a slight nod. Ninten forced himself to take a deep breath. She _knew_ Kumatora on sight, even though Kuma wore the same pigmask suit as anyone else. Ninten couldn't begin to imagine what the colonel had in store for them, but he knew that he didn't want to be a part of it.

But if he ran now, the colonel would probably gun him down.

Ninten gulped and followed Kumatora up to the Mothership. Kumatora saluted as she walked up the steel ramp and past the colonel, and the colonel saluted back. Ninten could only imagine that the colonel was smiling under her mask. A tingling sensation went down his spine.

The inside of the Mothership was nicer than Ninten expected, with a couple rows of velvet-padded seats and a complicated-looking control panel in front of the main windows separated from the rest of the cabin by a steel railing. Ninten looked around and saw multiple hatches that were controlled by single levels, perfect for a quick escape.

The colonel walked over and leaned on the railing in front of the control panel as she waited for the rest of the pigmasks to congregate around. A pair of pigmasks at the control panel pushed a button to close the main entrance. As airship's ramp flipped up and closed to secure the hatch, Ninten felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"All right," the colonel said, turning back towards the pigmasks working the control panel. "Prepare for takeoff."

After the pigmasks pressed a few buttons and flipped a few switches, Ninten heard the sound of engines whirring. He looked over at Kumatora, who once again stood perfectly still while the other pigmasks fidgeted with their watches or phones.

"While the engines are heating up, I should explain what's going on," the colonel said. "I wasn't lying when I said that we were terminating our occupation of Saturn Valley, but I was ordered to carry out specific orders that some may find… _distasteful_."

Ninten gulped, hoping that nobody else could hear him.

"In short," The colonel said, slouching back on the railing, "We're going to blast Saturn Valley to bits."

It took Ninten a couple moments to look past the colonel's casual tone and comprehend what she was saying. In those seconds, nobody spoke and the only sound on the ship was the humming of engines. Ninten felt Kumatora tense up next to him and forced himself not to look over. She would make her move when the time was right.

"Why?" Ninten said. "I mean… I'm not challenging your order, sir, but I don't really see the point."

"I'm glad someone asked," the colonel said, "But I'm not going to answer unless I know that you're staying on board. Anyone can choose to leave the Mothership now if they have objections to what is about to happen."

"And die along with the Mr. Saturns?" Kumatora said, her voice dangerously quiet.

The colonel shrugged, unfazed. "Most likely."

Silence fell over the room again, save for the white noise of the engines whirring.

"Well?" the colonel said. "Anyone want to leave?"

Nobody spoke.

"Wonderful." The colonel looked back at the pigmasks by the control panel. "Takeoff time."

Ninten bit his lip, hoping that nobody could see the action under the pig mask. He stared on as the pigmasks at the control panel thrust a few levers forward, prompting the sound of rockets below. With a rumble, the Mothership started to rise. Ninten looked out at the window as the ground started to fall beneath him, and grew smaller and smaller in the distance.

Now would probably be a bad time for Ninten to focus on his fear of heights.

After a few minutes of standing silently while the airship ascended, Ninten could make out the entire Saturn Valley and see the snow-capped peaks of the mountains on either side. The view, rounded out by the sparkling pond within a cluster of alien-looking white cylindrical houses, looked like it should have belonged in a postcard.

And the pigmasks were about to destroy it.

"I will not apologize for what we are about to do," the colonel said, "But I will say that I'm sorry for anyone who loses their innocence today. This is the way the world works, and it _is_ best for every one of you to know the truth sooner than later. Even if it hurts." the colonel paused. " _Especially_ if it hurts."

"I still don't understand," Ninten said. "Why does it have to be this way?"

Ninten heard a gasp from the other pigmasks, and realized too late that he had neglected to call the colonel "sir." The colonel herself, however, kept a casual posture even as she hoisted herself off the railing and stood up straight.

"What do the pigmasks stand for?" she asked. "What is our ideology?"

"I wasn't aware that we had one," Kumatora said dryly."

The colonel ignored her. "Anyone?"

"Prosperity, maybe," one of the pigmasks offered. "Our society advanced a lot after the pigmasks formed."

"And when we say prosperity, we mean greed," the colonel said. "Life for most people hasn't gotten better, but at least they have cool new gadgets that they tell themselves they can't live without. Is that right?"

The pigmasks exchanged glances. Ninten was the first one to offer a hesitant nod. Kumatora, as expected, kept a stiff posture and didn't respond to the question even as the other pigmasks eventually nodded along.

"Our critics agree," the colonel said. "They say that we're teaching people to care only about the bottom line. They claim that the warm hearths of Tazmily grew cold and the houses were barricaded shut following the introduction of money. Of course, those people are idiots. Small towns are the best sources of xenophobia and are quite good at homogenizing their little societies by stifling subcultures. But that's what they say."

The pigmasks hesitated before nodding along. Ninten wondered if anyone else in the room had actually understood what the colonel had said about small towns. He wasn't even sure if the words "xenophobia," "homogenizing," and "subcultures" were really a part of the Nowhere Islander vocabulary.

And if they weren't, it would be enough to prove that the colonel existed outside of the game's timeline like Isaac or Fassad.

"King P. himself gave us pig suits as a symbol for greed and crony capitalism," the colonel said. "He was aware of _exactly_ what sort of society he was trying to create, and he didn't hide it from anyone. Our king has always been… above such deception."

A couple of cheers sounded from the pigmask soldiers. Ninten bit back a smile. They were quite literally applauding greed and destructive capitalism, honest or no.

"Everyone seems to agree that the pigmasks are all about greed and money," the colonel said. "However, they're all dead wrong."

The room fell silent.

"That's right," the colonel continued. "Most of the pigmasks don't know who we are. Our critics don't know who we are. King P. didn't even know who we are. But I do."

"But…" one of the pigmasks stammered. "Everything we have comes from King P."

"Don't give me that bullshit. Surely you're not so brainwashed to thing that he planned out every move of our expansion? King P. created something far larger than itself. In fact, I wouldn't even say that he created it. He just revived a political system from times past."

"You mean fascism," Ninten said.

Oh, _hell_ no. Whether or not the colonel was going to admit it, Ninten knew that his assessment was true. He looked down at Saturn Valley.

Fascists didn't just destroy cities. They destroyed cultures and erased identities _._ And the colonel had already admitted which genocide they had in mind next.

"Ah, at last a pigmask willing to speak the truth around me." The colonel nodded. "Yes. We are indeed a fascist state. And does fascism preach greed as an ideology?"

"I wouldn't say that fascists lack greed, particularly," Ninten said.

"But greed is a means to an end. And I think you can tell me exactly what end that is."

Ninten was the psychic, but the colonel seemed to be the one who could worm into his thoughts. Ninten gulped and nodded.

"When people think about who the pigmasks are," the colonel said, pacing back and forth. "They think too much about the pig and not enough about the _mask._ Sure, we show our greed and unregulated capitalism off to the world, but it's just the first layer of what's in our hearts. It is, to say, a façade."

The colonel paused, and for a moment Ninten was back at the Thunder Tower, looking at the smirk of a brown-capped man.

"But unlike Fassad, I know what lies underneath the greed," the colonel said.

"You want to-I mean _we_ want to take over the world," Kumatora said. "That's what we're really after. It's all about the land we control."

"If that were the case, I wouldn't be ordering you to abandon Saturn Valley right now." The colonel shook her head. "Good try, but no. All empires functioned on the principle of expansion, and that expansion is tied in with bringing in resources to fuel greed. That's not what we're after."

"Why don't you just tell us what we _are_ after, then?" Kumatora said, exasperated.

The colonel nodded, ignoring Kumatora's insubordinate tone.

"Hatred," she said. "Fierce, fiery anger directed against another group. Only hate is more powerful than greed. Only hatred is more _useful_ than greed."

Ninten bit his lip, looking down at Saturn Valley. Unfortunately, it made perfect sense why they would want to wipe Saturn Valley off the map.

"We gave the people happy boxes," the colonel said, "So that they would come to us. And when they did, we took away _everything._ We took away their leisure, their loves, and soon we'll take away the very air that they breathe and replace it with smoke. But it's not because we wanted their labor and life for ourselves. We only want to put the burning fire of hatred in their eyes."

"I don't understand, sir," one of the pigmasks said.

"We beat our own people down," the colonel said, "And then we told them that it was someone else's fault. When people in New Pork City lose their jobs, we blame it on immigrants from small towns like Tazmily. And then, without fail, the people who lost their jobs will seethe and let their anger fester into an infection that consumes them. They'll yell about restricting immigration and riot when they see someone speaking with a country accent. And that, of course, inspires others to do the same.

"And we tell our people that they don't have enough food because we're feeding the insane people on the streets," the colonel continued, "And then our people take up arms against the mentally ill. Because fundamentally, we tell our people that we're _better_ than outsiders. We tell our people that all of their problems will disappear if we remove the pesky, lazy outsiders from our own community of angels. And with just a little nudge, they'll believe it. They'll want to deport any outsider they see. And with a second nudge, we can push them to commit genocides."

"Is it really that easy, sir?" another pigmask asked.

"It's all _too_ easy. We told all of you that you were special, that you were _deserved_ to be special. And whenever you failed, we told you that it was because you were being deprived of what you deserved and that you should seize your own destiny. The people under King P.'s rule are not just a community. We are a _race_ of people, and we are superior to other races. It's a lie that our people want to believe, and it's one that they lap up like dogs. The belief that we are superior gives us strength. The belief that we are superior gives us unity."

Ninten's heart sank into his stomach. In a way, the pigmask colonel was right. The strongest communities were powerful and unified precisely _because_ they all worked together to exclude others from entering their group. On a college campus, the closed community mentality led people in elite fraternities and sororities to take harmless pride in how they had passed rigorous hazing and screening procedures. In the struggling Nowhere Islands, the closed community mentality led to the growth and expansion of the pigmask regime.

"Humans always form into communities," the colonel said, "Even during our days as hunter-gatherers, we travelled in groups. Those groups evolved into villages, and then cities and empires. And finally, they formed into countries, which gave birth to national identities. The national identities strengthened, until they eventually became sacrosanct. That is when countries turn fascist. The strongest community is the one such as the pigmasks that believes our people pure and that all others are inhuman. Our desperation and our desire to feel superior brings us together. We need hate to _keep_ us together."

"And that plays into what we're going to do to Saturn Valley?" Nitnen said.

"Ah, someone's clever. What our soldier here is getting at," the colonel gestured towards Ninten, "Is that fascist nations constantly need a target for our hate. Right now, We're targeting Mr. Saturns. It doesn't matter who we choose. We've already engineered some bullshit plot about how the Mr. Saturns are inventing machines that outcompete the local factories and force those factories to lay off workers. What matters is that we got the people in New Pork City to blame all of their problems on the Mr. Saturns. And if anyone defends the poor creatures, we say that they're conspiring with the Mr. Saturns to take away local jobs as well."

Ninten shivered. The colonel's rhetoric about outsiders stealing jobs cut a just little too close to the real world.

"You honestly expect that to work?" Kumatora said.

"Soldier, it already _does._ Nobody has complained about the action we're taking against the Mr. Saturns. In fact, everyone is outspoken about how much they _despise_ the little creatures. Because even remaining silent is enough to draw accusations about being a Mr. Saturn sympathizer. We have friend spy on friend, neighbor spy on neighbor, and children spy on parents to make sure everyone agrees that exterminating the Mr. Saturns is necessary. Even a little bit of hatred always spreads wide enough to drown out cries of sympathy."

Ninten heard a noise coming from above and looked out the window to see the laser cannon that was used to destroy the Thunder Tower swivel around until it was pointed straight at Saturn Valley below.

"I've said this once and I'll say it again," the colonel said, "People focus too much on our masks. Even beneath our uniforms, we are all united. We are all part of the strongest community in the world. And we are all examples of how hatred can twist people to commit a genocide against a group like the Mr. Saturns that we never really knew."

The colonel yanked off her mask to reveal a face with soft features and hardened expressions, plain brown hair and fiery black eyes. It was a face that most people would have noticed for its stiff expression, but the sight left Ninten wide-mouthed and stunned for another reason entirely.

A single moment of silence.

"Hinawa?" Ninten said.

"Kumatora," Hinawa said, smiling at Kuma's pig suit. "You should really join the pigmask ranks. I can make sure that you get to watch the world burn. After we exterminate the Mr. Saturns and other outgroups we can find, we'll need a new enemy. I predict that within a decade, the pigmasks will be divided among themselves, fragmented into different regimes. Wouldn't it be so _delicious_ to watch them all slaughter each other?"

"What the fuck is _wrong_ with you?" Kumatora said, throwing off her own mask. "I'll kill every single pigmask I get my hands on, and I'm not going to stand by and watch as you slaughter these terrified Mr. Saturns."

Hinawa sighed. "Ah, Kumatora, you can't pick and choose who to kill when you plunge the world in darkness. Let me show you the-"

"PK Freeze."

Shards of ice sprayed over Hinawa, who only frowned in disappointment.

Hinawa cocked her head in calm contemplation for a single moment.

"Fire the cannon," Hinawa said, glaring at Kumatora as she gestured towards the pigmasks at the control panel. "Everyone else, kill the girl."

Ninten sprang into action, slamming his elbow into the face of the pigmask next to him and stealing the pork trooper's laser gun. He fired a shot at the pigmask's face before dashing past Hinawa towards the control panel. He debated for a moment turning back to help Kumatora, but he was confident that she could handle herself.

The Mr. Saturns, however, could not.

Ninten fired laser bolts at the two pigmasks by the control panel. The laser cannon started to rumble and glow with an eerie light. Ninten let out a shout and fired more lasers, dropping the two pigmasks just as the laser cannon started to flash enough light to disrupt Ninten's view of outside the window.

He looked over at the control panel and saw a meter of the laser cannon's charge progress. It was one tick away from full, which hopefully meant that the cannon wouldn't fire. Ninten shot the meter with his laser gun, sending sparks flying from the control panel.

Ninten looked at all of the glowing buttons and levers on the control panel and couldn't make sense of a single one. Maybe there was a way to deactivate the cannon, but Ninten couldn't afford to look around for the perfect button when Kumatora was fighting for her life. So Ninten took the safe approach to make sure that the laser cannon couldn't fire.

He fired lasers at every single part of the control panel he could see. Each button went up in flames, and each switch emitted sparks as Ninten fired laser bolts at each one. After a few wild shots, he went from right to left along the control panel and destroyed every button and lever systematically.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ninten spotted Hinawa leaping over the railing and running towards him.

Ninten raised his laser gun to fire a second too slow. Hinawa punched Ninten in the gut, sending his vision swimming as he stumbled back in pain. He squinted and made out Hinawa darting away to the other side of the control panel, reaching out for-

No.

Ninten let out a scream, raising his gun.

Too late.

Hinawa pushed one of the buttons Ninten hadn't shot, and the entire ship rumbled for a single, _horrible_ moment.

Please…

The laser cannon on the top of the ship released its energy in a cone of light directed down at Saturn Valley. For a full second, white light filled Ninten's vision.

The next moment, Ninten looked out the window to see Saturn Valley engulfed in flames.

"No." Tears blurred Ninten's village. "I…"

"I regret to do this, Ninten," Hinawa said, pointing a laser gun at him. "I'm not as petty as Fassad or Isaac. I don't really _want_ you dead. But… well, it won't be permanent, right? I promise that it will be painless this time."

"You killed… all of them…" Ninten could hear the emptiness in his own words.

He looked around to see the rest of the pigmask squad pointing their laser guns at him as well. There was no way that Ninten could hope to fight them all.

"You killed _all of them._ " Ninten raised his shaky fists.

A few high-pitched _pews_ sounded, followed by a storm of lasers. With each laser that hit him, Ninten's vision turned red with pain for a fraction of a second. He let out a cry and slumped over at the control panel.

"Kumatora?" Ninten said, raising his head to look at Hinawa.

Hinawa glanced away from the control panel. "Dead, by the looks of it. I know you hate it when people say this, but she _is_ just lines of code in a game."

Ninten let out a whimper. For the first time, he had failed to save anyone. He tried to stand up, but he couldn't find the strength within himself to support his own body weight.

What good was standing up to fight when there was nothing left to fight for?

But there was still another option. Ninten had a way to run away from any situation. He couldn't use it to save anyone else, but maybe this time he could save himself.

"4th-D slip," Ninten said.

He wondered if the world going hazy around him was just in his mind.

* * *

Ninten rematerialized into existence in the burning Saturn Valley. He looked around at the flames and coughed at the smoke. One glance up at a spotless blue sky told him that the Mothership had likely taken off without him, explaining why he had appeared back on the ground after using 4th-D slip.

"B-Boing…"

Ninten jerked his head in the direction of the sound, wondering if he had imagined the voice within the cackling of the fire. There, inside of a burning house, Ninten could make out a creature with large whiskers and stubby little feet lying on its side. Its feet flailed in the air as pieces of its house started to come down around it.

He looked around at the other houses. Most of them had been completely disintegrated already, so this one must have been caught on a weaker part of the mothership's laser. Not seeing anyone else he could help, Ninten dashed into the burning house, using Offense Up and knocking aside the debris that prevented the Mr. Saturn from escaping. The creature kept flailing its legs, looking at Ninten with panicked eyes. The flames licked at Ninten's legs and parts of the white ceiling fell down on Ninten's head, depleting his life bar.

The next piece of ceiling that fell down on Ninten knocked him to the ground. His vision swam as he tried to reach out towards the Mr. Saturn, coughing again at the smoke. The piece of fallen ceiling was still on top of him, pinning him in place and bringing his health bar to a blinking red. If only Ninten could…

He felt a whisker brush beside his hand. Maybe that was good enough.

"4th-D slip," Ninten said.

Ninten closed his eyes and hoped beyond hope that he hadn't been too late this time.

* * *

Silence.

Pain.

And then, the shuffling of feet.

"Zoom."

Ninten opened his eyes to see the Mr. Saturn standing on top of white rubble. The image floated around, as if his entire vision were seasick. Ninten coughed and forced a smile.

"You're… safe," Ninten said.

He laughed. A joyous feeling rose in his chest, bubbling through a sea of pain. His laughter turned to sobs a moment later, but the tears were of joy rather than sorrow.

Even in so much destruction, in so much evil, there was a little bit of life. A little bit of good.

And that good was worth holding onto.

As Ninten's vision got dimmer and dimmer, he saw the Mr. Saturn move closer and closer. Was that just a trick of his mind?

No. Ninten could definitely _feel_ something in his hand. It was coin-sized, and Ninten wrapped his fingers around the mystery object as he continued to cry.

"Courage, ding," the Mr. Saturn said.

Courage…

Was there really any courage to Ninten risking his life when he could go back in time and try again and again and _again_ to make things right?

He put that question aside, looked the Mr. Saturn in the eye, and smiled one last time before his vision went black.

* * *

Once again, words began to appear before Ninten's floating consciousness.

 _I AM IMPRESSED._

 _YOU MANAGED TO SAVE A SINGLE MR. SATURN FROM THE GENOCIDE._

 _THEIR CULTURE SHALL LIVE ON._

 _BUT IT IS STILL NOT ENOUGH._

 _THE MR. SATURN WAS NOT THE ONE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAVE._

 _BECAUSE THE FACISM CONTINUES TO SPREAD._

 _PEOPLE HAVE LESS AND LESS TO EAT,_

 _AND THEY GET ANGRIER AND ANGRIER._

 _THE PIGMASKS TURN TO GENOCIDE AGAIN AND AGAIN,_

 _AND PEOPLE START TO LOSE WHAT LITTLE HOPE THEY HAD._

 _THIS WORLD IS BEING TORN APART._

 _THIS WORLD IS BEING TORN APART._

 _THIS WORLD IS BEING TORN A…P…A…R…T…_

 _N…I…N…T…E…N…_

 _P…_

 _L…_

 _E…_

 _A…_

 _S…_

 _E…_


	10. Ice Cream and North Korean Nukes

**Hey, everyone. :) With this chapter, I finally catch up with my editing to where I am in my writing. So don't expect me to keep up this pace of one chapter per day haha.**

 **This chapter has a bit of a... weird scene that takes place in futuristic Earth, so I included a lot of geopolitics (an area that I don't know much about). The way I portray the representatives of different countries is likely inaccurate in subtle ways, even though I tried to do my research. I'm hoping to have a bit more leeway since it's in the future and relationships between countries do change. Although in this case, most of the countries have regressed backwards socially. The way I portray China isn't how I actually think it is today. I revived a lot of more charged language used historically in China to represent a social decline back into the age of the Cultural Revolution.**

 **But yeah, I just wanted to have fun with writing different leaders of different countries, even if my portrayal of them isn't entirely accurate. Hopefully it feels natural.**

* * *

 **Review Response: PKTofuMaster:** (I'm going to respond to your ch. 1 review by PM) Aw, I'm glad I could help. :) Advanced mobio sounds like death lol. Ochem is already taking a lot out of me and it's week 2. I did a little confused head tilt irl when you said that her character was true to her personality, since in M3 she's quite upbeat. But I'm glad that you liked the character. I was worried that her dark motives would be a turn-off to people reading the chapter. And then I completely neglect Duster and Boney because I can't write them for shit lol. Yeah, I was reading around the internet and saw that some people view the pigmasks as a literal fascist regime, and I thought that would be a cool concept to run with... especially after Lucas and crew fail to pull the needles.

Heh, I'm glad you recognized that the Mr. Saturn was giving him the courage badge (I make it more explicit this chapter). Really, the reason I wanted to include a Saturn Valley scene at all was because Ninten needs the Franklin Badge to fight the Masked Man at the final needle. Oops, spoilers... but hopefully it's not too surprising where that was heading. I was also at one point planning a scene with Salsa (that's the green door that Ninten never goes through) but decided to scrap it for the Thunder Tower scene since all I really needed to do there was introduce Kuma. The person Ninten is supposed to save is closer to #2 (I think), but honestly I'm sorta writing this as I go. I had a good idea of who it was supposed to be, but some things changed in my story and now I'm not sure if it makes as much sense. We'll see. :)

* * *

Ninten took a deep breath, staring at the glowing stones beneath his feet. He was _fine._ He wasn't obsessed with the Nowhere Islands V-game. He just… had a healthy appreciation for it? Ana played V-games all the time, so surely Ninten couldn't be blamed for finally getting into the scene when he was trapped inside this dingy cave anyway. Just a perfectly normal person playing a perfectly normal V-game.

A dry laugh escaped from Ninten's lips. Who was he kidding? The Nowhere Islands V-game had taken away his contentment, his time, and eventually his freedom.

And yet he couldn't wait to go back.

Ninten closed his eyes and pictured the hazy memory of the Mr. Saturn standing on a pile of white rubble in front of him under an ocean-blue sky. The creature's whiskers seemed to shimmer in the sunlight as it walked closer and closer to Ninten.

 _"_ _Courage, ding."_

Ninten opened his eyes, looking down at his right hand, which was balled into a fist. He must have grown used to the feeling, but now that he focused on his sense of touch he could tell that he was _holding_ something in his fist.

Ninten uncurled his trembling fingers and looked down at his open palm, seeing a single rusty badge pressed into his skin.

He bit his lip and placed his palm over his chest, along with the badge in it.

 _"_ _You killed… all of them…."_ Ninten's own voice rang in his ears.

But the pigmasks hadn't wiped out the Mr. Saturns, not completely. He had saved a single little creature out of the entire village from the inferno. A single pair of wide eyes, two stubby legs, four whiskers, and a ribbon. That was all he had managed to preserve.

Ninten pressed the badge more tightly against his chest, feeling tears come to his eyes.

 _"_ _Courage, ding."_

Courage… was that the badge's name?

 _"_ _Even a little hatred always spreads enough to drown out cries of sympathy."_

No. Hinawa was _wrong._ There was always good in the world, and evil couldn't snuff it out completely. Ninten remembered his own laughter bubbling up from his lungs as he saw the lone Mr. Saturn on top of the white rubble. Ninten himself could remember his consciousness slipping away, leaving him in a hazy, dreamlike state.

Even through the pain and suffering, Ninten managed to laugh.

 _Because_ of the pain and suffering, Ninten managed to laugh.

So Ninten laughed again. He laughed for Claus' starry eyes, for Lucas' gentle smile. But he also laughed for the Masked Man's emotionless expression, for Hinawa's stern gazes and Kumatora's stiff anger. He laughed because they had never gotten a chance to let everything _go_ and let joy take control.

Tears continued to stream down Ninten's cheeks. He kept his eyes closed and counted sixty heartbeats, feeling the Courage Badge pressed against his chest each time his heart pounded.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Ana looking straight at him with a smirk.

"Ah." Ninten scrambled backwards and fell onto his rear. "Ann. Uh… how are you doing?"

Ninten chuckled and began to stand, but a wave of dismissal from Ana cut off the motion. Ana exhaled and sat down next to Ninten, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. She looked into his eyes, smiled, and then let the arm she had placed on Ninten's shoulder drop to her side. Up close, Ninten could see the dark circles under Ana's eyes, and the red capillaries in the whites of her eyes looked like they were about to burst.

"Everything that's happened to us doesn't feel like it should be able to fit into a single day," Ana said. "A week, a month, a year. Those can change people's lives. But a day?"

"I didn't even need a day," Ninten said, glancing down at the Courage Badge in his hand. "All it took for me was a couple of hours."

"And is it okay if I ask how you changed?" Ana's voice sounded distant.

"I'm not scared of the Nowhere Islands anymore," Ninten said. "I mean, I'm still _terrified,_ but I'm not exactly…" Ninten sighed. "I guess maybe I'm just ready."

"For what?" Ana's eyes followed the silhouettes on the ceiling.

"To help someone," Ninten said. "To finally be useful. Even if it's just inside of a game"

"I'm… glad." Ana yawned. "Maybe the fatigue is just making me delirious. But even though we ended up walking into a big mess, I'm so glad you're here with me."

Ninten blinked, looking over and studying Ana's expression.

"I'm serious," she said. "I hope that we stay friends forever. I know that college friends tend to go their own ways after school, and some of them don't ever see each other again. I don't want that to be us."

"You don't want us to go our own ways?" Ninten said, raising an eyebrow.

"I…" Ana sighed. "I don't know what I want. Right now, I want to stay here until I know that you're safe. In a few days, I want to find Lucas and turn everything back to the way things were. In four years, I want to enter a PSI fellowship and become a healer. But for the rest of my life? I just don't _know._ "

Ana paused, looking over at the Courage Badge in Ninten's hand. She squinted and looked closer, poking at the rusty badge with a finger. However, the badge remained just a rusty badge, and Ana smiled.

"What about you?" she said. "What do you want?"

"I don't know either."

"We're expected to know what to do with our lives," Ana said. "But what if we just can't tell what the future holds?"

Ninten nodded. Even in the world of the Nowhere Islands, the future was vast and he could only cling onto fragments of time in a sea of eternity. Ninten couldn't plan out his future when he could slip through time. If he were dragged along through real life and poured through the hourglass of time like every other grain of sand, how could he hope to know what he wanted to do in five, ten years?

"I think," Ninten said, "That we should set little goals for ourselves. We should laugh and smile. We should go to bed and dream happy dreams. And we should work as hard as we can right now to find Lucas and make sure he can do the same."

Ninten spent the next few minutes telling Ana about what happened to him during his last trip to the Nowhere Islands. Her expression grew more and more concerned the further along the story.

"I wish Claus hadn't made that deal with you," Ana said after Ninten finished.

"That he would tell me where Lucas is? Why not?"

"Because if you _don't_ beat the V-game and Lucas never comes back, you'll probably go the rest of your life thinking that it's your fault that we never found him."

Ninten sighed. "Okay, point taken. It might be kind of hard to live through a life where Claus knows where Lucas is but won't tell me because I can't beat his stupid game."

" _Kind_ of hard?" Ana said.

Ninten rubbed his temples. "Look, Ann. I do get it, and I appreciate you pointing out that scenario. But at least I have a chance this time. At least I have hope."

Ana pursed her lips. "I'm just scared that you're investing yourself personally in that V-game."

"How could I not?"

"But what if you fail, Ninten? What if the game is _actually_ impossible to beat? Claus couldn't stop the cycle of suffering after _living_ in that stupid game, going through each timeline again and again until he watched the world crumble in a thousand different ways. What can you do that he hasn't tried?"

"I'm not sure." Ninten looked up at the ceiling. "Thanks for keeping me real, Ann. I'll go into the game expecting to fail, hoping that the police will find Lucas before us. But I can't ignore what's going on right in front of my eyes. Not anymore."

"And I assume that you won't turn back now because Claus claims to know where Lucas is?"

Ninten nodded. "I have to at least try."

Ana smiled, stood up, and dusted herself up. "Look at my little Ninten. All grown up and ready to take action. Does this mean that you'll try on your physics homework first before you come complaining to me?"

"Hey." Ninten crossed his arms. "I always _try_ on the physics assignments. I'm just stupid so I can't accomplish anything on my own."

"You have an A in the class, right?"

"I get lucky on the tests."

"Well, let's hope that your luck carries you through here," Ana said, smiling. "I think I'm close to breaking you out of here, so I'll be chugging along through the night trying to make progress as well. I wish us both luck."

"Thanks, Ann. I know I always say this, but-"

"You wish you could be more helpful?"

Ninten gulped and nodded. "I definitely feel like a princess locked away in a castle right now."

"Well, read any modern story about princesses and they'll motivate you to kick some ass. You can't do anything about your own position. You might not be able to do anything about Lucas', either. But you saved that Mr. Saturn, right? That's worth something."

"Yay me. I saved a V-game character."

"And I'm saving a digital letter on your transcript next to the word 'physics.' These things _matter,_ Ninten. And I…" Ana paused with her mouth hanging open, and then laughed. "And I guess if we're changing things up while trying to have some fun, I should stop mooching off of your family's money and take you out to ice cream some time. Whatever happens with this whole Lucas business, I think we deserve it."

Ninten's mouth watered. "Ice cream sounds great. And you're going to pay?"

"That's generally implied when I say I'm going to stop stealing your money and take you out somewhere."

"Just wanted to make sure." Ninten yawned, and got up to his feet. "I'll look forward to it. You're going to want the triple fudge brownie flavor again, I bet."

Ana raised her hands in mock surrender. "What can I say? Triple fudge brownie ice cream is the only boyfriend I'll ever need. And you're going with some shitty fruit flavor, I bet."

"I always wanted to try mango," Ninten said. "And you should watch which flavors you call shitty when yours actually looks like a turd."

Ana laughed, her notes of joy echoing throughout the caverns. She closed her eyes and licked her lips.

"I can already taste it," she said. "The ice cream, not the turd you were talking about. And it's enough to distract me from my crushing existential questions for a while longer."

"The best taste," Ninten said, grinning.

Ana opened her eyes and looked over at the dragon-and-islands sprite.

"Well, I think that Claus and the others are waiting for you in there," she said, "And I think we've kept them waiting long enough."

Ninten nodded, closed his eyes, and walked towards the floating sprite. He stopped when his fingers brushed over the hard scales of the Dark Dragon sprite. Ninten opened his eyes, looked back at Ana, and waved goodbye.

Then he transferred his consciousness back into the Nowhere Islands.

* * *

 _THE YEAR IS 20XX. WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS THE LAST REMNANT OF…_

 _OF…_

 _…_

 _I THINK…_

 _I THINK THAT MAYBE YOU SHOULD SEE WHY THE REST OF THE WORLD WAS DESTROYED._

(ILH)

No smell of smoke.

No glass box with stars flickering outside.

Instead, Ninten stood inside a tunnel. The floor was lined with mine cart tracks, and wires snaked up the dirt walls and powered dirt-covered light bulbs from the ceiling.

And at the end of the tunnel, a metal door with a fingerprint scanner.

"I don't like this place," came Claus' voice.

Ninten turned around to see the Claus wearing the Masked Man's stiff suit, minus the helmet. Claus looked down at the door at the end of the tunnel, his expression conflicted.

"Have you been here before?" Ninten asked.

Stupid question. Claus had been _everywhere_ in this universe. The corners of Claus' lips tilted upwards to form a thin smile.

"Well, the Claus in the game hasn't. But I got curious and checked out a bit of this world's history. I don't want to say it was a mistake, but…"

"But?"

"There are times I wish I hadn't."

Wonderful.

"I'm sorry," Claus said, looking away. "I think it will be better for you, since you're not stuck in here."

Ninten took a moment to study Claus' face with his soft features and wide, sad eyes. Compared to Claus, Ninten _did_ have it easy. Ninten could choose to leave—well, not Lucas' Magicant, but at least the Nowhere Islands V-game—while Claus was watching the same tragedies play out again and again. If Claus had managed to survive this long without break down, Ninten could put on a smile and step into the unknown without flinching.

"I saw what you did last time," Claus said. "With the Mr. Saturn. I saw you… laugh."

"Yeah, I was out of it by the end."

Claus frowned. "But you didn't seem insane. You looked at the Mr. Saturn with the same overwhelming relief as if it were your own child."

"I'm a little young for that, Claus."

"I remember Lucas used to go into the woods just to stare at the trees. I would tell him that they were just stupid plants. I would have to physically drag him over to the pond to play. But again and again, I would find him holding a leaf in his hand, staring wide-eyed at the veins and laughing as a breeze carried the leaf up into the air."

Claus paused, looking back at Ninten.

"I had forgotten," Claus said, "That people could be so amazed at small signs of life."

Ninten looked around at the mine cart tracks and dangling light bulbs while breathing in the humid air of the mine. What he would give for a tree, a leaf, and a breeze right about now...

"I might have forgotten as well," Ninten said. "At least, until just recently."

"I wonder how you will react to what happens next now that you remember." Claus gestured towards the steel door. "It will react to your fingerprint. The door acts the same as one of the glass doors. It will transport you to another place."

"And there's only one place I can go?"

"If you want to progress in the Nowhere Islands, you have to see this. After you witness how the world ended once, you'll have your chance to break the cycle of suffering."

"And there's nothing I can do to save this world?"

Claus shook his head. "We are not on the Nowhere Islands anymore. Changing what happens here is far beyond either of our powers."

"So I just watch, then."

"You can try to take action, if you want. But this world, with or without your interference, is doomed."

"Lovely."

Claus shrugged. "What a pleasant V-game we chose to make."

Ninten cocked his head. "We" chose to make it? That meant Claus and… other people helped design the game?

"Yes," Ninten said, trying not to alert Claus to the slip he had just made. "Better to get it over with, I guess."

Ninten walked over to the door and the fingerprint pad. He hesitated, looking down at the black touch screen with the picture of a fingerprint above it. Taking a deep breath, Ninten put his thumb on the fingerprint pad and closed his eyes.

"Good luck," he heard Claus say.

As Ninten looked back, he heard the steel door rumble open, and he caught a glimpse of Claus waving goodbye before white light filled his vision.

* * *

A single sleek, steel floor.

Four walls with the reflective sheen of metal.

Two men and two women clothed in black suits, congregated around a machine. And hooked up to that machine through an IV was another unconscious woman laying down on the floor wearing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

The machine displayed the unconscious woman's heartbeat, spiking up about once a second. Ninten looked for a heart monitor, and frowned after seeing no wires coming out from the unconscious woman's clothes.

Three of the four people stood around the unconscious woman, while the last man sat in a wheelchair smoking a cigarette. One of the women spoke in a foreign language, her voice halting after each syllable as she pronounced every sound using a different tone. Likely Chinese, then, although Ninten didn't want to be the guy to ask.

"Uh…" Ninten looked back and forth between the four people clustered around the IV machine.

Four heads and a wheelchair swiveled around towards Ninten. Two men and two women greeted Ninten with nods, their expressions unfazed. The man not relegated to the wheelchair walked over to Ninten and smiled, reaching into his pocket and pulling out an earpiece. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly to mimic speech, but no words came out. A moment later, the man pointed out to myself.

Speak to me. That must be what the man was trying to say.

"Um…" Ninten looked over at the other people by the machine. "Hello? Can you understand me? My name is Ninten."

The man nodded, fidgeted with the earpiece, and handed it to Ninten. He pointed at the earpiece and then pointed at his own ear.

Yeah, like Ninten couldn't tell what an earpiece was. He put the device in his ear and gave the man a thankful nod. The man smiled and spoke in the same tonal language as the woman from before, and moments later the earpiece translated the word to English.

"Greetings, Ninten," the man had said. "Where are you from?"

Ninten paused. "You know America?"

"Knew," the man in the wheelchair said in a different language.

"Oh, I bet you're going to love giving him shit, Kim," the woman who hadn't yet spoke said. "He's probably been memory-gassed, you know. But I suppose a dictator like you can't feel bad at all."

The man in the wheelchair shrugged. "Being with you makes me wish that _I_ had been memory-gassed."

Memory-gassed? They probably thought Ninten had amnesia, which wasn't far from the truth.

"Mr. Kim. Ms. Park." The man who had given Ninten the earpiece sighed. "Please keep our discussion civil."

Kim. Park. Those were Korean surnames. Two Koreans, and the man in front of Ninten was likely Chinese. He looked over at the last woman, whose language also sounded like Mandarin, or possibly Cantonese. Where did she belong?

"I hate to break this to you," the man who had given Ninten the earpiece said, "But the American government has already collapsed. You probably don't remember it, since they gassed all of their citizens into forgetting all of their short-term and many of their long-term memories. Your effects seem to be pretty mild, since you still know what America is."

"Thank you," Ninten said. Should he bow? "If you don't mind… where _are_ we?"

"Underground," the man said. "Probably somewhere near Seoul. After living in the caverns for so long, the old lands and countries start to lose meaning."

"If only," the man in the wheelchair said with a snort.

"We should probably introduce ourselves," the man who had given Ninten the earpiece said. "I am Zhang Yan, president of the Republic of China. Do you… remember what that means?"

Ninten smiled. He didn't know how many Americans had ever learned Taiwan's official name to begin with.

"I do, sir. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"And I," said the Chinese-sounding woman, "Am Liu Mei, president of the People's Republic of China. I must say that I didn't expect to find a gas victim _here_ of all places. The security procedures are quite rigid. But it would be feasible for another bio-terrorist to feign amnesia, hack into our systems, and meet us here."

 _Another_ bio-terrorist? Ninten frowned.

"I assure you, Ms. Liu, that I really don't remember what happened," Ninten said. "And I know that I can't prove anything. You really just have to trust me."

"Well, I like him just because Liu doesn't," the woman referred to as Park said, smiling at Ninten. "I'm Park Hae-Won, president of the Republic of Korea. It's nice to finally have someone to talk to other than a pushover and two communists."

Two communists? Liu made one, and Zhang was likely the pushover that Park mentioned. Ninten turned towards the man in the wheelchair.

"Yeah, I fucking _hate_ this part," the man in the wheelchair said. "The name's Kim. Just call me Kim. And I'm the leader of the People's Democratic Republic of Korea. And since you Americans can't seem to be able to see through our bullshit name-"

"North Korea," Ninten said, a chill running down his spine.

"Yeah, I'm the glorious immortal leader and all that." Kim shook his head, taking a puff from his cigarette. "You'd think that if I _actually_ had superpowers, I would be able to stand up and quit smoking. But my people are still too fucking scared to say anything about that part."

"Even though you're so forward about it?" Ninten said.

"He let the real power fall into the hands of the military," Park said with a sneer. "He's just a figurehead. And instead of the military sending us one of their generals, they give us _this_ little fucker."

"I think that calling me a fucker is a little rude," Kim said, "To all those who are actually attractive enough to find someone to fuck."

"Comrades," Liu said, slamming her palms on the IV machine. "Focus. My congress threatens to break the armistice if we don't get any information from the terrorist. They tell me that it's all Zhang's fault."

"You're the one with nukes." Zhang frowned. "Why should your people be scared of us, Liu? I mean, I know you _brainwashed_ them all just like the Nazis-"

Liu's eyes lit up in anger. "We are _not_ fascists."

"Yeah, you're not. Chairman Mao killed six times as many people as Hitler killed in the holocaust. I'd say that makes the communist party worse."

"You know those numbers are inflated."

"Oh, so Mao only killed _four_ times as many people as Hitler. Now suddenly, everything's okay?" Zhang laughed.

"This is what happens when you try to reason with communists, Zhang," Park said, shaking her head.

"Everyone shut the _fuck_ up," Kim said.

Ninten looked around as silence fell over the room. Everyone other than Kim looked stunned, giving the man in the wheelchair enough time to catch his breath.

"Jesus _fucking_ Christ," Kim said. "How old are you? Most children I see can at least _pretend_ to be civil when company's watching."

Ninten wondered what kind of kids Kim knew.

Liu frowned and opened her mouth to speak. Kim cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"Please, Liu," Kim said. "Don't give me the bullshit you have prepared about swearing by Jesus being _reactionary._ I think that Ninten and I are the only ones in this room who know that we don't live in the fucking sixties anymore."

Well, this could have been set in the _2060s_ and Ninten wouldn't have known the difference. Although it did concern him that the most level-headed person in the room seemed to be the North Korean dictator.

"We," Kim said, "Are all going into the terrorist's psyspace. Together. We will tell her that we can still find ways to hurt her and bring her out of her slumber. And Ninten is coming with us."

"Ninten?" Liu gagged. "Comrade, have you gone insane?"

Zhang frowned. "I do believe that we should trust Ninten until he proves otherwise, but I'm unfortunately forced to agree with Liu. Disclosing sensitive information to civilians simply doesn't make any sense."

"Fucking communists," Park muttered. "Fucking North Koreans."

"Ninten is coming with us," Kim said, "Or I will release enough nukes in these goddamn tunnels to collapse every last one."

The room fell silent. Ninten looked into Kim's eyes and felt his last shred of doubt fade away. This man really _would_ sacrifice millions of lives to fulfil his petty agenda.

"You…" Park chocked on her own anger. "You can't _do_ that."

"Oh, I can't?" Kim's voice was dangerously soft.

"Your military is in charge of the nukes," Park said, "Not you. Everyone knows that."

"And would you like to test that claim? If so, feel free to keep on chattering."

Park opened her mouth to speak again, and Zhang silenced her with a shake of his head.

"If it really means so much to you," Zhang said, "I will allow Ninten to accompany us. But this may have diplomatic repercussions, Kim. I was sincerely hoping that we were all above resorting to such threats."

"I, unfortunately, have to agree with Zhang," Liu said, glancing over at Ninten. "It is not truly a big deal if he come with us, but I do not understand your motives."

" _I_ don't approve," Park said. "We can't let ourselves cave into his hollow threats. North Korea's been threatening my country for a century, and we haven't backed down before."

"Too bad that you just got outvoted," Kim said, flashing a smile filled with crooked teeth. "Turns out coercion gets you votes. Isn't that the wonderful thing about democracy, Park?"

"So, uh…" Ninten gulped as all four heads turned towards him. "The unconscious person hooked up to the IV machine. She's a terrorist?"

"More than that," Liu said, scowling. "She's part of a group that wants to annihilate humanity completely."

"So far, they've been successful at stirring unrest," Zhang said, "But not much more."

"Not much more?" Kim snorted. "That's plenty bad enough."

Liu flashed a thin smile. "You have to give him that one, Zhang."

Zhang sighed. "Let's just get this over with. Ninten, you are still familiar with psyspaces, yes?"

"Er… yeah." What he didn't know was how it would work to enter a psyspace inside a V-game that was already inside of a psyspace.

"I still cannot _believe_ that you're caving into Kim's demands, Zhang," Park said.

Zhang walked over to the unconscious woman and placed a hand on the IV machine. Kim wheeled his wheelchair over and did the same, his hand shaking as he set it down on the steel machine. Liu walked over to the opposite side of the machine as Zhang and placed her own hand down.

It took Ninten a moment to realize what was going on.

"You can force your way into her psyspace with the IV?" Ninten said.

"Well, it's not really an IV," Liu said, frowning. "But yes. The Americans must have done a good job with their memory gas to make their people forget about these machines."

Ninten decided that he didn't want to know what the American government had done to make Liu say that. He walked up and placed his hand on the opposite side of the machine as Kim, between Zhang and Liu.

"Coming, Park?" Zhang said.

Park sighed and walked over, glaring at Kim as she placed a hand on the monitor between Ninten's and Zhang's hands.

"Now," Kim said. "Let's go into the terrorist's psyspace and see what she has to say."

Ninten nodded, closing his eyes and transferring his consciousness into the machine in front of him.

Moments later, after his consciousness left his body, Ninten opened his eyes to see crystal-clear waves crashing down on the white sand underneath his feet.


	11. How to Purify the Earth

**Hello, everyone. What's up? :)**

 **There's a scene in this chapter with six characters in it at once. Needless to say, it takes forever to get through. And as for these second chapters in one of Ninten's same playthroughs, you can probably guess how this one ends.**

 **We're getting closer to the final levels of the Nowhere Islands V-game. I hope you're ready for what's in store next... and I hope I can write it in a convincing way. :) I think the next few chapters after this one will make or break the story.**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Guest (I'm pretty sure this is Tofu but on the off chance that it isn't...):** Don't worry, there will be more focus on Claus in the next few chapters, and I'm hoping you'll like the role he plays in them. :)

 **PKTofuMaster:** Heh, hopefully all of your questions get answered soon. I don't anticipate this story going on for _too_ much longer... but we'll see. :) And I wouldn't place too much faith in anything I wrote in my summary of this story lol. I definitely wrote that before I had a super clear idea of where the story was going, and now I just can't think of anything better. Ah, that makes more sense about Kuma. I always found it strange how she had such low attack power for someone who seemed to like brawling so much. Yep, I'm definitely in Ana's boat of getting any flavor of ice cream that sounds the most chocolate-y, and I pictured Ninten as being more appreciative of the delicate flavors. :) Yeah, I know. The first part of this chapter is Ninten being in a psyspace that's in a V-game that's in another psyspace lol. Also, I remembered after writing chapter 10 that forgetfulness gas is an actual weapon that enemies use in Mother 3, so I accidentally stole it from canon. And yeah, Park's scandal was absolutely nuts. The Park in this story is very loosely based off of her in the corruption aspect... but mainly, I just wanted to have the bitter rivalries and bickering of North/South Korea and Taiwan/China. Although I have heard quite a bit about corruption in Korea. My mom told me that my grandfather was amazed that in America he didn't need to bribe anyone to get his driver's license.

I don't even really know what myspace is (I'm too young lol), so that's a pretty hard no. I just thought of the psyweb as the internet and wanted a computer equivalent, and "psyspace" fit the bill pretty well. Literally a personalized space in the PSI realm. :) As for the Mother 3 stuff, I'll say that having the literal events in Mother 3 occur in Ninten's world would be breaking with the college-student-in-the-information-era tone. It's like in those bad movies where people get trapped in video games, you don't have dragons and stuff leaking over into real life outside the game. Oh wait sometimes you do. *shrugs* Still, I'll say confidently that stuff like the Magypsies and the Dark Dragon don't exist in real life Earth... even weird PSI real life Earth.

* * *

A seagull cawed above. Ninten looked up at the sky and saw a whole flock of seagulls circling above the crystal-clear waters of the ocean under the playful gaze of the sun. Fluffy clouds floated in the sky, cloaking the top of the volcano-island in white shroud. A seagull dove towards the water, and a school of silver fish leapt out of the sea. More seagulls descended as the fish hopped and flailed out of the water, their water-coated silver scales glittering under the light of the sun.

Ninten took a deep breath as a breeze of salty air passed over him. If this was some sort of trap, the person had set it up well. Ninten felt ready to drift off and fall asleep. He took a moment to close his eyes and feel the air rush around him as the sound of crashing waves played in the background.

This could be a trap.

Someone could sneak up and stab Ninten right now.

This domain _belonged_ to someone.

Releasing a sigh, Ninten opened his eyes and turned towards the inland part of the island. A grove of palm trees not too far inland would at least provide a place for Ninten to stay hidden.

Only as he started walking towards the palm trees did Ninten realize that he had no idea where the four world leaders were. He couldn't imagine that they would have formulated an entire plan to get Ninten trapped in someone else's psyspace, which meant that they were probably inside the psyspace and all separated from each other as well.

Was _that_ the purpose of the calming atmosphere? Did it aim to divide, sedate, and conquer? If so, then parts one and two of that list had already been checked off.

Ninten walked over to the grove of palm trees. He took off his shoes and socks before sitting down under the shade on a tuft of perfectly green grass. A coconut fell in front of Ninten, landing on top of a sharp rock and splitting clean in two. The two pieces landed in the sand open-side up, coming to a stop with coconut water filling both halves.

Okay. _Definitely_ not natural.

"Are you okay if I share?"

Ninten let out a yelp and scrambled to his feet. A woman wearing sweatpants and a loose t-shirt stood smiling by Ninten's side, occupying the space where thin air had been just moments ago. She looked exactly like the woman who had been lying unconscious in the room with the four world leaders.

The one they had called a terrorist.

The woman walked over and sat down across from Ninten in front of one of the coconut halves. She smiled at Ninten and motioned for him to take a seat in front of the other.

"Please," she said. "There's no need to worry."

Ninten kept his gaze trained on the woman as he sat down in front of the other coconut half. The woman picked up her coconut half and took a deep drink, releasing an "ah" sound and wiping her mouth after.

"Feel free to drink," she said, gesturing to the coconut half in front of Ninten. "Even if you don't normally like coconut water, this stuff is good."

"I'm fine," Ninten said, keeping his tone neutral. "But thank you."

The woman shrugged as if it meant nothing to her and set the coconut half down. A gust of wind sent her hair tumbling and flapping in front of her. After the breeze calmed down, she pushed her hair out of the way and smiled.

"Who are you?" she said.

"I could ask the same question."

"I suppose you could." The woman looked away, and then back at Ninten with a coy smirk. "Although truth be told, who I am isn't all that interesting."

"Give me something, then. My name's Ninten, if that helps you at all. The leaders informed me that I was memory-gassed by the American government."

"So you _are_ with the politicians."

"How else would I be in your psyspace right now?"

"I don't know what the situation is," the woman said, frowning. "I've been unconscious for days."

Ninten scanned her face, and decided that her tight lips and eyes staring studying the ocean waves made her _seem_ sincere enough.

"I'm not sure how much I should really tell you about myself, if you're with them," the woman said. "But I guess I can tell you my name. It's public knowledge anyway." She paused, looking at Ninten. "You're a little young for all of this, aren't you? That's my only regret about everything that's happened. Some people never got a chance to really _live._ But I guess that's always been a problem. I don't think most peasants from earlier times had fulfilling lives even if they lived to sixty or seventy."

Ninten kept his gaze steady. "Your name."

The woman sighed. "Sakuraba Namiko. But please, call me Namiko. My family doesn't define who I am."

The name sounded like something from the anime that Ana watched, so he guessed that Namiko was Japanese. But really, he had bigger issues to worry about than this woman's nationality.

"I did hear about the gassing," Namiko said, offering an apologetic smile. "Such a tragedy. Although I guess it doesn't feel that way to you, since you don't remember any of it."

"Listen," Ninten said. "I didn't really want to come here in the first place. But Kim said that he would nuke the tunnels if I didn't come."

"Really." Namiko raised an eyebrow. "And… do you know him?"

Ninten shook his head.

"Do you know _any_ of them?"

Ninten shook his head.

"Huh. Then why would Kim care?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"Hmm. I suppose that I do have an inkling."

Namiko paused, and after a moment lifted up her coconut half and took another glug of coconut water. She set the dry coconut half down, smiling at Ninten as water dribbled down her chin.

"Care to explain?" Ninten said.

"Honestly?" Namiko shrugged. "No. Are you going to drink your coconut water?"

"I'm pretty sure that they're not supposed to have this much water," Ninten said, looking down at his open coconut half. "Is there any reason you want to keep talking with me? If you want to go on and talk to the leaders, feel free."

"Nah, I like to keep them guessing. And I _would_ like to know a bit more about you."

Namiko stood up and looked out at the glass-colored waves crashing down on the white sands.

"Have you ever seen a beach like this before?" she said.

Ninten shook his head.

"They used to exist, you know. Beauty lurks in nature, if you're willing to let it stand for itself. But we never did. If this exact beach did exist in real life, what do you think would happen to it?"

"Flood from climate change?"

Namiko smiled. "Well, yes, but more quickly than that it would become a tourist attraction. You wouldn't be able to see the silver fish and crack your own coconuts without encountering a mess of sweaty people."

"And is it so bad to share this experience with others?"

"It is when those people ruin the environment with their trash," Namiko said. "The natural world is being squeezed dry for every drop of cash that corporations can get their greedy little hands on. Plastic fills our already-acidified oceans, and the smog in cities like Paris used to be so thick that people needed masks in order to _breathe._ "

"I mean, yeah, the destruction of the environment is a real shame," Ninten said, "But what does it have to do with you getting captured or me being here?"

"See, that's your problem," Namiko said. "You only think about yourself. That's what capitalism wants you to do. It plays off of greed, and companies ruled by shareholder value will dismantle each one of the world's ecosystems to squeeze out a few extra yen. And don't get me started on the communists." Namiko's expression grew dark. "The world may never recover from what Stalin and Mao did to it."

"I'm not with them," Ninten said. "I'm an American pig, so you can save your anti-communist rhetoric and focus on your anti-capitalist rhetoric."

Namiko laughed. "Do you always make fun of yourself in such a way?"

Ninten shrugged. He did it all the time in physics, although it was less "making fun" and more along the lines of "completely serious comments about being stupid or hopeless."

"Fine, I'll do my best to exonerate Stalin." Namiko wrinkled her nose. "And I can't believe I just said that. Okay, so I guess this isn't _completely_ Stalin's fault, but did you ever hear about the Chernobyl incident?"

"The name sounds familiar."

"A big nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union where a reactor melted down and may or may not have mutated a bunch of animals, depending on how much you trust sensationalist news outlets of the time. Anyways, it became too dangerous for people to live there with the radiation, and the site will continue to be dangerous for another twenty thousand years or so."

Ninten nodded along. The flippant tone of Namiko's voice surprised him more than anything in the actual account. But she did say that she was going to try to exonerate Stalin, so Ninten motioned for her to continue.

"Do you want to know how Chernobyl's doing today?" Namiko said.

"Not well, I presume."

"Actually, quite the opposite. It's the most naturally preserved place in the entire world. The wildlife is flourishing, and shows almsot no traces of exploitation."

"Because humans are too afraid to go anywhere near?"

"Exactly." Namiko beamed. "The only way to truly preserve the environment is to make sure that humans don't interfere."

Something clicked in Ninten's mind.

"Oh no," he said, scrambling back. "Please don't tell me…"

"Hmm?" Namiko frowned in concern.

"You really _do_ want to destroy all humans, don't you?" Ninten said. "Liu and the others were right. Because the only way to ensure with absolute certainty that humans don't mess things up again…"

"Is to make sure that there are no humans left _to_ interfere. Good thinking, Ninten."

"Don't you _dare_ give me credit for that idea." Ninten stood up and kicked over his coconut half. "And don't act so friendly if you're going to destroy our entire species."

Namiko looked at the turned over coconut half that Ninten had kicked into the sand and frowned. Every one of Ninten's instincts screamed for him to run, but the Nowhere Islands V-game had sent him here for him to learn how the world had ended before. He could at least hear Namiko out so that he would know what he would have to fight against later in the V-game.

"That's another one of your problems, Ninten. Another one of _our_ problems. It's coded in our DNA to value human life and disregard the lives of insects and plants. And do you know why that is? Ultimately, our _altruistic_ desires to protect other humans are just a result of natural selection. There's nothing holy about sacrifice, Ninten. It just makes our species more successful if we can work together."

"Altruism can be beautiful, even if it evolved just like any other trait of ours," Ninten said, taking a step back.

"Everything you think you know about morality and ethics is a lie," Namiko said. "There's just a bit of code whispering in the back of our mind that the _homo sapiens_ species is worth preserving. Most philosophers, religious figures, and even most _scientists_ listen to that voice without question. But it is not good to help other humans. It is not good to save human lives. Because we are a disease on this Earth, and we deserve to be cleansed."

"The leaders were right," Ninten said. "You're a madwoman. A terrorist."

He needed to believe those words.

And yet, Ninten could still _sort of_ see where she was coming from. The destruction of the Amazon Rainforest and other ecosystems was a real problem. Overpopulation and the clustering of people in countries like China and India was a real problem. But to try and solve those problems by wiping out all humans was crazy, unthinkable. At least, it _had_ been until now.

"The rest of you are mad," Namiko said, her icy eyes pinning Ninten in place, "And I am one of the few who are sane. The way that we defend humans again and again is madness, plain and simple. The data shows that we're destroying this Earth. The data shows that we reproduce like a disease, with more and more of us leeching off our planet each year. Look at the results objectively, Ninten. _Why are we still defending our species?_ "

"Because there's some good in us," Ninten said.

Ninten felt something in his pocket, and he reached inside to fish around with his right hand. He felt over a rusty piece of metal and pulled the Courage Badge out of his pocket. Claus must have stuffed it in there from last playthrough, somehow.

"What the fuck is that?" Namiko asked. "I didn't let you bring in any-"

"It's the Courage Badge," Ninten said. "It means a lot to me."

"Oh, well whoop-de- _fucking_ -do," Namiko said, rolling her eyes. "Now that you have a rust-covered coin I'm _all_ for saving humanity now. Bravo, Ninten."

"I'm not going to give up," Ninten said. "I think you're forgetting that the leaders are the ones interrogating you. After they're through, I'll try my hardest to rebuild the world."

Maybe if he said those words confidently enough, he would believe them himself.

"There's so much you don't know." Namiko gestured towards the palm tree grove around her. "All of this could be _real,_ Ninten. We just have to get over our silly instincts and learn to accept the fact that our species is a disease. If we kill all of the humans, the Earth will return back to its natural state. Maybe not immediately, and maybe not in a millennium, but those words mean nothing next to geologic time scale measurements."

"Kill everyone," Ninten said softly, "Including ourselves?"

"Of course." Namiko smiled. "I am not a hypocrite."

"You're willing to sacrifice your own life?"

"What part of this life is even worth living? I rarely come out into the real world these days. I'll just stay in this paradise until the day I die… and long after."

Ninten frowned, narrowing his eyes. "You are aware that death means you _stop existing,_ right?"

Namiko blinked, and then released a laugh. "Of course. You've been _gassed._ "

"What's so funny?"

A seagull cawed above, and swooped down to land on Namiko's shoulder. She gave the bird an affectionate scratch before looking at Ninten and shaking her head in disbelief. The seagull flew off a moment later.

"Recently, people figured out a way to transfer their entire consciousness into their psyspace," Namiko said. "The movement's been picking up momentum in what's left of the world over here in Asia. The process of transferring one's self to a psyspace kills the user, of course, but it means that they continue to exist in the psyspace forever."

"No way." Ninten felt his lips break into a nervous smile. "I might not know what's going on here, but I'm not that gullible."

"Many of the members of our society have gone through with the procedure," Namiko said. "Their bodies die seconds after the process finishes, but their _essence_ is trapped in their own natural paradise. This is the sort of extinction that we see for ourselves, Ninten. Just because we die doesn't mean we have to stop existing. If everyone leaves their bodies behind and joins our digital world, then the Earth doesn't have to suffer any longer."

Ninten took another step back, looking around for a way to escape. "And to think I thought you were crazy _before._ "

"Being coded by PSI in a psyspace is not so different from being coded from DNA in your mother's womb. You'll still be _you,_ Ninten." Namiko extended a hand outwards and smiled. "Join me, Ninten. You probably do not remember your psyspace, but you can transfer your consciousness into mine. We can live in this paradise forever, just the two of us. Don't keep suffering through a world where each breath you exhale adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. I can give you salvation."

"I…" Ninten shook his head. This _couldn't_ be real. "I have to go now."

Ninten turned around and focused himself. He emptied his mind, let himself become _nothing,_ and let his own nothingness reach out until it stretched across the entire island. Ninten caught himself quivering, the back of his mind firing of panic signals.

Well, he wasn't completely empty, but he was detached _enough._ Ninten forced his consciousness out of his own body, and then out of Namiko's psyspace.

* * *

Ninten started awake back in the steel room, feeling the cool metal of the IV machine on the palms of his hands. He looked around at the world leaders, who still had their eyes closed. The only one of them that could be mistaken for sleeping was Kim, as the other three leaders had stiff postures and tense shoulders that made them look alert even with closed eyes.

A moment later, Namiko started awake on the floor. She groaned, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Her gaze met Ninten's and she grinned, the same playful smile she had directed at him back in her psyspace.

Ninten tensed up, taking a step back and raising his hands up to his chest.

"I…" Namiko coughed, her voice hoarse. "I can't do anything to you like this. No need to be afraid."

Ninten tried to focus on the image of explosions in the tunnels rather than Namiko's sunny smile. She had admitted herself that she wanted to destroy the human race. Someone so evil shouldn't be able to look so _alive._

A buzzer sounded off in the room, and all four world leaders opened their eyes. Park pressed a button on the control panel on the massive IV machine and the beeping stopped.

"Good thing you showed up," Zhang said. "I was about to follow through with my threats."

"Oh, you were shouting something where I dumped you in my psyspace?" Namiko cocked her head. "I wasn't really listening."

Zhang's face flushed a light pink.

"You _will_ tell us where your group is hiding, terrorist," Liu said, walking up to Namiko and narrowing her eyes. "And then we will exterminate them. We can either do this the easy way, or the hard way."

"I'm sure you idiots have heard the facts about torture before," Kim said, taking a puff of smoky air from his cigarette. "It didn't work before, and it _certainly_ doesn't work now when people like her can go hide in their own little psyspace. We're just wasting our fucking time."

"Oh, I bet that's because you sympathize with the terrorists," Park said. "You're basically the leader of a terrorist organization yourself. You bleed your people dry and use fear to control them, all while living in the greatest estate the underground has to offer."

Kim grinned. "Someone's angry that she had to embezzle funds instead of relying on a rich daddy. Oh, wait. You had that one too."

Park recoiled as if struck. "How _dare_ you. Baseless rumors will never-"

"And the impeachment hearings are rumors as well?" Liu said, her lips forming into a thin smile.

"My people are scared and divided because of terrorists like _her,_ " Park sputtered, pointing at Namiko. "She's the problem."

"I'm flattered," Namiko said, "But you've all done a perfectly good of dividing yourselves before we ever showed up. This kind of bullshit talk was why I joined the Pure Earth Organization in the first place. Because unlike you, I'm not actually trying to divide our people. I'm trying to unify them behind a single cause."

"What you're planning on doing is worse than genocide," Zhang said. "The Nazis tried to wipe out a _part_ of human consciousness. You're trying to destroy _everything._ "

"I am trying to destroy a small number of the creatures that live on our beautiful planet," Namiko said. "Your sort of thinking that humans are 'everything' is exactly your problem."

"I don't care why you're trying to destroy the world," Liu said. "I just want to know where your other terrorist friends are. You _will_ tell me, eventually."

"President Liu." Naimko laughed. "You almost sound desperate. Is the legislature getting you down again?"

"Shut it, bitch." Liu kicked Namiko in the chest. "And stay down. Nobody gave you permission to sit up."

Namiko sighed like it meant nothing to her and went back to lying on the ground. She released a yawn and rested her head on top of her hands.

"Is there any way that you could install more comfortable flooring?" Namiko said.

"Shut the _fuck_ up." Liu's face flushed red with anger. "Where are your-"

"Listen, I honestly don't know where the rest of the Pure Earthers are," Namiko said. "We meet over psyweb. We swear no political or national allegiances. More members funnel in every day. And we don't really know who any of them are, since many of them join under aliases. I know that all four of you have sent spies into our midst. What exactly did you find?"

Zhang exchanged a nervous glance with Park.

"Well?" Namiko said.

"My spies were able to get in easily," Park said, "But they couldn't tell me anything except for the obvious. It almost seemed like there _was_ no centralized power that we could target."

"And have any of you had different experiences?" Namiko asked.

The terrorist sat back up and looked each world leader in the eye. This time, Liu didn't kick Namiko back down. All of the leaders remained silent, which for Ninten was an answer in itself.

"That's because Park is exactly right," Namiko said. "We have leaders, sure, but our members take whatever actions they need to achieve our goals. If you kill us, more will pop up. Because with the psyweb, we'll always be able to reach out to people sympathetic for our cause. And with every step you take," Namiko grinned, "With every one of us you torture, your people just get angrier and angrier. We carry the momentum of the entire human consciousness with us. We _cannot_ be stopped."

The room fell silent. One by one, Ninten saw the hope drain from the world leaders' eyes. Maybe they had all known before what Namiko had said and hadn't wanted to admit it until now.

Except for Kim. He took another puff from his cigarette and blew out a stream of smoke, smiling and relaxing back in his wheelchair.

"See?" Kim said. "I told you this meeting was worthless."

"Comrade." Liu plugged her nose and waved away some of the smoke. "Must you smoke in here?"

"We could open the ventilation," Park said, walking over to a panel near the door. "Trust me, reasoning with Kim is like talking to a steel wall."

"I do see myself as steely," Kim said, grinning.

Park grunted and pressed a button on the panel. A closed vent on the ceiling that Ninten hadn't noticed until now clicked open, and Ninten heard the sound of air rushing in from above. Park took a deep breath and smiled.

"Now, that's better," she said.

While the other leaders were looking at Park and the ventilation control panel, Namiko shot a suspicious glance at Kim. The North Korean dictator shrugged and then gave an almost imperceptible nod. Namiko smiled to herself and looked down into her lap.

Ninten looked back at the other leaders, wondering if they had caught the motion. It might have meant nothing, but Claus said that the world _would_ end here.

"Um, excuse me?" Ninten said. He cleared his throat as five heads swiveled towards him. "Uh…"

"Speak clearly, or do not speak at all," Liu said, frowning.

"Do you think it's a good idea for so many of the world's leaders to be interrogating a terrorist alone?"

"No," Park said, her tone indicating that she had talked about this before.

"It's a symbolic gesture," Zhang said, "The bitter rivals of the world coming together to fight terrorism. We'll hand her over to professionals afterwards, certainly, but we organized this meeting to make a statement."

"And… who was the one to suggest the meeting?" Ninten said.

"It was the North Koreans," Park said. "So I'm just as wary as you are."

A chill ran down Ninten's spine.

"Does it matter?" Zhang said, frowning. "We're all here now."

"I think it does," Ninten said, looking between Namiko and Kim. "I think it matters a lot."

"Listen, kid," Namiko said. "I know that Americans hate North Koreans, but it doesn't mean anything."

Silence. The three other leaders looked at each other, their eyes widening.

"What?" Namiko said.

Park's face turned pale. "Why are you… _defending_ him?"

"I…" Namiko's mouth hung open for a second. "Oh."

"Well, the jig's up," Kim said. "Might as well get this over with."

Kim tore off the padding around one of his wheelchair armrests, revealing a remote control device embedded beneath. Kim pressed a button, and an additional set of steel doors closed to block the lone exit.

"The ventilation system," Ninten said. "He wants to do something with the-"

Kim pressed another button, and the control panel that controlled the temperature and ventilation of the room burst into sparks.

"Comrade," Liu said. "No, _Kim._ What is the meaning of this?"

Kim sighed. "You really shouldn't write me off as an incompetent old man just because I act like one."

"Why are you turning on us now?" Zhang said, panic rising in his voice. "We need to keep the peace-"

"Oh, I'm keeping the peace," Kim said. "I'll make sure that no wars will ever be fought again."

"You're with her," Ninten said, looking at Namiko.

"Yeah, and I was going to play along until I got bored, but Namiko kind of let it slip." Kim wheeled his wheelchair forward in between all of the leaders and eyed each one. "I hope that you don't take this personally."

"Did you think that we would come here without our force fields, Kim?" Zhang said. After a moment, he frowned at Ninten. "Ninten, do you…"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"And knowing Kim, he'll want to kill the kid first just for the hell of it," Park said, taking a step forward and cracking her knuckles. "But he can't do anything if we beat the shit out of him now."

Park lunged forward with her fists, but a blue aura flashing around Kim repelled her back. Park cursed as Kim took another puff of his cigarette.

"Yeah, North Korea developed force fields a while ago," Kim said. "I guess I forgot to give you the memo."

"So you can't hurt us and we can't hurt you," Zhang said. "Sooner or later, people will come to break us out. What's the point?"

"Don't be so sure that I can't hurt you," Kim said. "After all, the Pure Earth Organization has quite a few tricks up its sleeve."

"Why did you join them?" Liu said, her hands shaking with rage. "You know that the only way we can fix this world is by working _together_ to dismantle corporate greed."

"He's a dictator," Park said, sneering. "He doesn't need a reason for anything he does."

"Yeah, I really don't," Kim said with a shrug. "But today, I have one. And it has to do with Ninten's country."

"America?" Ninten said. "I thought they collapsed."

"They did," Kim said, "But in the decades before they collapsed, they proved a valuable point. They dismantled dictators around the globe, many of them who rose to power in the wake of increased tensions from American, British, and Soviet influence. As the proxy wars faded away after the Soviet Union collapsed, the anger in people's hearts did not. Dictators ruled their countries with iron fists, and afterwards the Americans created a power vacuum by removing those dictators. Think about it. A country with a collapsed government and angry people. What happens next?"

"Political fracturing," Liu said, glancing at Zhang.

"A civil war," Park said, sneering at Kim.

"Terrorism," Ninten said.

"I answer all of the above," Kim said. "The collapse of governments in the Middle East, which had previously been the destructive playground of American and Soviet forces, allowed for terrorist groups to enter the field. Wars broke out, and the new governments used fear just as the old ones did. And as the Americans cracked down on terror, the people grew angrier and angrier, and more of them flocked to terrorist groups."

"Oh, like you would have done any fucking better," Park said. "Why are we listening to him?"

"We don't have much better to do," Zhang said, glancing over at Namiko. "Remember, we stripped Namiko naked and confiscated anything dangerous before putting her clothes back on, and Kim can't hurt us with our force fields on. Maybe we can reason with him."

"Park," Kim said, rolling his wheelchair over to her. "Please, do not mistake me. I don't blame the Americans for their efforts to remove dictators from office. I'm sure I would have fucked it up more. But that's the point, isn't it? There's no good answer to deal with fragile countries that were stretched between America and the Soviet Union. Countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen… and North Korea."

"Wait," Park said. "You're _admitting_ that you're just as bad as the terrorist countries?"

"If you removed me from power today," Kim said, "Terrorist groups would just rise up in my wake. Don't you ever think I _wanted_ to step back and give my people freedom, Park?"

"That thought never even crossed my mind."

"Well, I was about to do it. But then I realized that my people cannot be saved. If left to their own devices, they'll go around slaughtering each other just what happened in every other country caught between Soviet and American crossfire. It's not their fault. In our case, it's not even really the fault of the Soviets or the Americans. Our plight stems from Namiko's people."

Ninten's eyes narrowed. He could remember Mary's conversation about the Japanese occupation of Korea like it was yesterday. Ninten bit his lip. Even in the future, Korea still couldn't outrun its past.

Wait. Mary hadn't told him about the Japanese occupation yesterday. It had been just _this afternoon._ Ninten felt a pang in his stomach. A part of him still wondered if he would ever get out of Lucas' Magicant and see Mary again.

"My people have never really been free since Japan came," Kim said. "They sailed in, tried to destroy our culture and assimilate us, enslaved us, and then we were supposed to get up and rule ourselves the second they were driven out. But of course it doesn't work like that. Of course we clung onto the world superpowers and became their pawns in the game of world influence. And of course my people were liberated by the wrong side."

"You would rather have been influenced by the capitalist pigs?" Liu said.

"At least then, we would have had a chance. But there's no hope for North Korea. No chance of redemption. If I weaken my stranglehold on my people, extremist groups will rise and invoke their notions of martial law on the bits and pieces of land they occupy. I realized this, and asked myself how long it needed to go on. I asked myself at what point it should just _end._ "

"And now you want to destroy everyone," Zhang said.

"I won't let my country suffer under my rule," Kim said, "And I won't let it fall into the hands of extremists. In a way, I'm the most patriotic out of all of us."

Ninten heard a gagging sound and looked over at Namiko. While Kim had been speaking to them, Namiko had risen to her feet and now had a finger stuck down her throat.

"Wait," Park said. "What's she doing?"

"Zhang." Ninten heard the panic rising in his own voice. "You said you stripped her naked, right? And she has nothing dangerous on her?"

"Yes." Zhang frowned. "What about it?"

"Fuck." Liu's eyes widened. "I can't _fucking_ believe it."

Park and Zhang exchanged a confused glance.

"There's one place that you never would have checked for anything dangerous," Ninten said.

Namiko vomited on the floor. And in the puddle of barf, Ninten spotted a small vial. Namiko scrambled and picked up the vial, running over to one of the walls.

"Should have sliced open her fucking stomach to check for weapons as well," Liu muttered.

The Chinese President pulled a handgun out of her pocket, but before she could fire Kim pressed another button on his armrest remote and the gun went flying out of Liu's hands and stuck to the armrest. More guns and switchblades from Park, Liu, and Zhang ripped through the soft fabric of the leaders' suits and stuck to the wheelchair armrest as well.

Did Kim have a button on his armrest for _everything?_

Ninten felt an object in his pocket straining against the fabric of his pants. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Courage Badge, which threatened to fly away from him towards Kim's wheelchair as well. Holding onto the badge felt like playing tug-of war with someone twice his size. Ninten grunted as the Courage Badge dug into his skin. He knew that he was going to die here one way or another, but he wouldn't let the Mr. Saturn's final gift fade into oblivion with him.

After a second, the Courage Badge started to crack. Ninten let out a shout of alarm as the badge split into two, one half flying towards the armrest of Kim's wheelchair. He reached out for the piece of metal, and the half of the courage badge flew out of his hand as well. Every instinct screamed for him to run forward and take the Courage Badge, but Ninten stopped himself.

He was still holding something.

Ninten looked down at his hand to see a perfectly clean badge made out of marble with a lightning bolt running down the center and the word "Franklin" inscribed at the bottom in small, black letters. He looked back at the parts of the Courage Badge now attached to Kim's armchair were really just a rusted, iron shell that was meant to preserve the true Franklin Badge inside.

Ninten looked up to see Namiko holding the vomit-covered vial up to the wall. She slammed glass against steel, sending the shattered pieces of the vial around the room.

A bright orange gas flowed up and out from the small vial, finding its way up to the ceiling and into the ventilation system.

"What did you just do?" Liu shouted, running over towards Namiko.

Orange gas… lighter than air…

"Is that neon gas?" Ninten said.

Namiko smiled at Ninten, ducking out of Liu's way. A yes, then.

"What the fuck are you doing with neon?" Park said.

"Oh, you know… recently, we were able to program with PSI a special container that opens when exposed to certain gases," Namiko said. "Gases like neon and chlorine."

The hairs on the back of Ninten's neck pricked up.

"And what's in those containers?" Ninten said.

Namiko jumped away from an attempted punch from Liu. "Ah, take a wild guess."

"More chlorine."

Namiko grinned. "Along with some neon to make sure more signals get sent. And where do you think those containers are?"

Ninten looked up at the air vent on the ceiling.

In that moment, the reality of Namiko's plan came crushing down on him.

"You have containers in the vents _everywhere,_ don't you? That's how you plan to end the world."

The neon gas would create a chain reaction that would open the containers and release more neon gas. The neon would then float up the vents, opening every container it passed. And because chlorine was heavier than air, it would go _down_ the vents, opening containers that the neon couldn't reach while eventually falling into the tight quarters of the tunnels and killing everyone inside.

And there was nothing any of them could do.

"Kim," Namiko said. "Finish transferring your consciousness while you still can."

Liu finally caught Namiko and tackled her to the ground. One, two, three punches to the face and Namiko's nose started bleeding.

"I never started," Kim said. "You go while there's still time."

"Wha-" Another punch from Liu silenced Namiko.

"I don't want to live in your empty world, Namiko," Kim said. "I just want this to end."

Namiko managed a nod and closed her eyes. After a few more punches, Namiko stopped moving. Liu took Namiko's pulse and grunted. Breathing heavily, she looked back at Kim. The fire in her eyes seemed to take up the entire room.

"She took the coward's way out and escaped the full wrath of my fists," Liu said. " _Pathetic."_

"Ninten," Zhang said, his face turning pale. "She just…"

Ninten nodded, a chill running down his spine. Namiko had explained how people in her organization would transferred their consciousness over to their psyspace as a way to kill their bodies while enjoying the afterlife forever. But through all of her posturing, Ninten had never expected to see the procedure firsthand. She _would_ live on forever in her own psyspace, while millions more would die painful deaths. In the moment, Ninten understood Liu's desire to _hurt_ Namiko instead of just killing her. Maybe if Namiko knew how painful a real death would be, she would be more hesitant to inflict the same pain on others.

"Ninten," Kim said, flashing a sad smile. "Young people like you who still have hope are the reason why it took me so long to take the final step. I'm sorry that you have to die now, and without any of your memories. But this is necessary to stop the pain. I promise it will feel better when there's nothing left of us."

Kim sighed, and then reached down to touch the armrest of his wheelchair with all of the guns and knives attached to it. As his finger moved within an inch of the armrest, Kim hesitated. He looked back at Ninten and shook his head in sorrow.

Kim closed his eyes and placed his hand on the armrest. Kim's body jolted once and fell completely still. All of the metal objects attached to the armrest dropped to the ground.

It took a moment for Ninten to put the pieces together.

"Is he… dead?" Park said. "Maybe we should go out the same way."

Ninten shook his head. "He's dead, but the deathtrap isn't activated anymore."

"So it was an electromagnet," Liu said. " _Fuck._ "

Ninten at least had to admire Kim's forethought. Using an electromagnet to double as a disarming measure for metal objects and a suicide device due to the electric current was clever, in its own way. It wouldn't have surprised Ninten if Kim's remote control had a dozen more mechanisms that would ensure his plan's success.

As Ninten detected the scent of chlorine, he decided it was a moot point. The smell reminded Ninten of a swimming pool. It was almost like he was _there_ back with his high school swim team, swimming lap after lap in the crowded pool.

"Oh, God," Park said. "It's _coming_ for us."

She walked over to pick up a gun that had dropped from Kim's armchair, put it in her mouth, and shot. Ninten tried not to look in her direction.

"How long does chlorine take to kill?" Zhang said, looking in the direction of Park's body.

"It kills slowly and painfully," Liu said, frowning at the vent. "But I might have enough time to install a psyspace here and transfer my consciousness over. Maintaining my focus might be difficult, but…"

With shaking hands, Zhang walked over to the area near Park's body and picked up a gun. Another shot sounded, and another dead body fell next to Park.

"Hmm." Liu frowned. "They are all cowards. None of us were going to live, but we might be able to keep existing." She looked over at Ninten. "What are you going to do?"

"I… need to go."

Liu's eyes widened in understanding. Unlike Zhang and Park, she didn't seem to judge him for wanting the easy way out. Liu looked over in the direction of the corpses, and her expression softened. "Do you want me to do it? It might be easier."

Ninten gulped and nodded. Liu ducked out of Ninten's vision and came back with a gun. A dirty yellow-green gas spilled out of the vent in the ceiling, and the stench of chlorine made Ninten gag. Liu's hand trembled as she pointed the gun at Ninten's chest.

"Do you want to… close your eyes?" she said.

Ninten nodded, and squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to control his breathing.

"I think I smell some hay in there," Liu said, her voice shaking. "They must have added phosgene as well." Liu chuckled. "It's like the first World War all over again. What goes around comes around, I guess."

Ninten heard Liu taking a breath.

"Are you ready?"

Ninten nodded. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry," Liu said, and Ninten opened his eyes for just a moment to see the sad smile on her face. "Sorry that I didn't trust you earlier."

Ninten closed his eyes once again.

"Good… goodbye," Liu Mei said.

Ninten heard the sound of the handgun firing.

* * *

After the usual flash of pain and detached feeling, Ninten's consciousness floated in empty space as trembling white words appeared around him.

 _THANK YOU FOR SEEING HOW THE WORLD ENDED._

 _MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN THE TUNNELS MANAGED TO TRANSFER THEIR CONSCIOUSNESSES TO THEIR PSYSPACES BEFORE THE GAS ARRIVED AND KILLED THEM,_

 _AND KIM'S DEATH TRIGGERED A COUNTDOWN FOR THE AUTOMATIC EXPLOSION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS THAT WIPED OUT THE FEW SURVIVORS._

 _WHAT HAPPENED IN THE TUNNELS UNDERNEATH NORTHEAST ASIA WAS JUST ONE PART OF THE PLAN, OF COURSE._

 _THE PURE EARTH ORGANIZATION ENACTED DIFFERENT OPERATIONS SIMULTANEOUSLY._

 _THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO ERASE ALL OF HUMANITY._

 _AND THEY ALMOST SUCCEEDED._

 _THE HANDFUL OF LONE SURVIVORS SAILED OFF TO THE NOWHERE ISLANDS,_

 _USING MEMORY GAS TO FORGET THE TERRORS OF THE LIFE THEY KNEW._

 _BUT IN DOING SO, THEY LOST THEIR CAUTION AND WISDOM,_

 _AND BEFORE LONG THE GEARS OF NATIONALISM STARTED TO CRANK AGAIN._

 _THE PIGMASKS BECAME AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE,_

 _AND THEN THE LAST REMAINING PILLAR OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION STARTED TO CRUMBLE._

 _PLEASE, NINTEN…_

 _REMEMBER ALL OF THIS AS YOU FACE DOWN THE MASKED MAN AT THE FINAL NEEDLE._

 _REMEMBER WHAT YOU'RE FIGHTING FOR._


	12. Die for You

**Phew, here we are with another (technically two) chapters. Chapter 13 second part is a tiny little bit that I wanted to make separate from the first chapter for a few reasons, the biggest one being that I really wanted to end the chapter on two different lines. So now I'm having two chapters that end on those two lines. Problemo solved. :)**

 **Anyways, this chapter _is_ long, but it's where the story really heats up so hopefully you have the patience to read it all the way through. I hope it's worth all the time I spent building up the Nowhere Islands. *crosses fingers***

* * *

 **Review response: asamiruria:** Ah, the guest name sounded like something Tofu would do. ;) And hey, short reviews are better than no reviews. :D Phew, I'm glad that the apocalypse scenario came out well. Turns out there aren't really any gases that could be amassed in large quantities and also kill its victims instantly so I had to go for a slightly less climactic, realistic gassing scenario. To think that World War 1 was basically all like this... *shivers*. And I'm also glad that my depiction of East-Asian powers came out well. Writing about other cultures poorly is an easy way to look like a racist lol.

Yes, I did my best to make Namiko's argument compelling... or at least as compelling as it _could_ be for an apocalypse scenario. And yeah, there's no easy solution irl to the overpopulation and habitat exploitation problem. I mean, it's great that medicine allows people to live for longer than ever before... we just need to find a way to deal with overpopulation. I was talking to my dad about it and he suggested that countries should impose a limit on how many kids each family could have, and I felt obliged to tell him about how the Chinese Government tried that and some of their people would KILL THEIR BABY GIRLS so that their one "allowed" child would be a boy. Ugh. Although on the plus side, studies suggest that one of the best ways to cut back on the global population growth rate is to educate people, especially young women, in developing countries. Apparently, education makes people have fewer kids and have them later in life. And learning stuff is super cool anyway, so it's really a win-win situation.

Hmm... it depends on what you consider a "happy ending" to be. The characters won't end up exactly where they want to be, but I'm planning to end on a hopeful note. :)

* * *

Ninten looked up and saw the wide-open sky, colored a soft purple with wisps of pink and orange knitted in. A gust of wind passed over Ninten, and the sunflowers by his feet rustled in the breeze.

Sky. Wind. Sunflowers.

Ninten was out of the cave.

"He-" a yawn cut off the voice behind him. "Hello."

Ninten turned around to see Ana smiling at him, the triumph in her eyes overriding the dark circles underneath. Ana plopped down into the sunflowers, running a hand over the flower's fuzzy stamens.

"Ann." Ninten felt a grin come to his face. "I never doubted your abilities, but…"

"But?" Ana smirked.

"But I didn't think you'd bust me out of that cave it so soon."

Ana yawned again, waving her hand in dismissal. "It was a disgrace that it took me so long. Whoever was trying to trap you in there was _good._ "

"Well, I'm just glad to have a friend who's better."

"Aw, you flatter me," Ana said in her oversaturated, sarcastic voice while batting an eyelash. "Anyways, I want to talk more back in Ness' dorm room before some other data file can trap you. Coolio?"

Ana didn't look like she was worried about Ninten getting trapped again. In fact, after her cheery smile faded it was hard to notice anything about her other than her constant yawning and bloodshot eyes. Ninten felt himself tear up whenever he looked directly at Ana's eyes—strange how he had never been able to suppress the instinct that told him to cry when he saw blood.

"Sure," Ninten said. "We can take a break for the night, if you want."

"Nah, I want to hear what happened. But first…" Ana pointed over to the waterfall sprite in the distance. "You remember that little fucker?"

Ninten blinked, taking a moment to listen to the sound of the water splashing down into the sunflower fields. That noise _did_ sound familiar.

"You thought the waterfall sprite was suspicious, right?" Ninten said.

Ana nodded. "Locked. I can't get into the code of the Nowhere Islands, but I can't even access the waterfall file normally. I can view a few of its properties and see when it was last altered, but I don't really know what's inside."

"Yeah, now I remember." Ninten looked at the glistening light refracted through the cascading water. "Sorry that I forgot."

"No, it's not that." Ana frowned. "That's the only file other that's been changed in the past two days. I mean, _we_ accessed a few files, but I'm obviously excluding those."

"So someone else was here?" Ninten said.

"I ran a diagnostic test of the psyspace's memory usage," Ana said. "The file with the waterfall sprite makes up more than 99% of Lucas' psyspace memory."

Ninten cocked his head, wondering if he had heard Ana right.

"So whatever's in there…"

"Has more code than the rest of his entire psyspace a hundred times over," Ana said. "That includes the Nowhere Islands V-game, the cycling environments, _everything._ The waterfall file is probably the largest I've ever seen in my life."

Ninten raised an eyebrow. "Any idea what it means?"

"Remember what Claus said about Lucas dumping off a massive data file after he went missing? It looks like we have the one."

"And can you think what kind of file Lucas would want to download to his psyspace while away?"

"Not in the slightest. But tomorrow, I'll try to break into the file and see what's inside. It's large enough that it must mean _something._ "

"I… probably distracted you from working on this, didn't I?"

Ana waved a hand in dismissal. "Making sure you're safe is my first priority, Ninten. You're never a distraction."

"Really?" Ninten smirked. "Never?"

"Okay, sometimes you ask me stupid physics questions, but we all get a few of those." Ana stifled a yawn. "We should probably get out of here before my fatigue becomes contagious."

Right as Ana said that, Ninten felt a yawn coming and couldn't quite force it down, letting the hot air escape from his mouth. Ana laughed and gave him a triumphant look.

"Point taken," Ninten said. "I'll meet you back in Ness' dorm."

Ana nodded, and then snapped her fingers before vanishing a moment later. Ninten shook his head, forcing himself not to laugh. If she thought that her dramatic exists from psyspaces were funny, Ninten would never be able to stop her from acting like a magician performing a magic trick whenever she logged off the psyweb.

Ninten closed his eyes and forced his consciousness outside of Lucas' Magicant.

* * *

Every time Ninten left a dorm room, he wasn't ready for quite how small it would be when he got back inside of them. As he started awake and looked around at Ness' baseball posters and Lucas' landscape photography squeezed onto the walls of the room, it struck him again that freshmen really didn't have that much space to live.

Ana was sitting up on the rug in the middle of the rooms between Ness' and Lucas' bed, resting her head on a metal bar that was a part of Lucas' bedframe

"That looks comfortable," Ninten said.

"I regret letting you have the chair," Ana said. "Seriously, what kind of dorm room only has one?"

"This one, apparently." Ninten looked over at Ness' empty desk. "I guess Ness isn't here much."

"Dorms these days…" Ana shook her head. "I am _so_ glad to be out."

"You could try to be an RA and live on campus for free if you like it so much," Ninten said, trying to hide his smile.

"Don't you _dare_ mention me living on campus ever again. I am traumatized." Ana sat up straight. "Fuck. It will probably be uncomfortable again when I lean back on the bedframe again."

"So how did you get me out?" Ninten said.

"Another mindscan," Ana said, frowning. "The person who I needed to imitate seemed… pretty cold. Although I guess they would have to be, if they wanted to trap your consciousness inside. It still shouldn't have been possible to keep you locked in there, by the way."

Yeah, and it shouldn't have been possible for the Nowhere Islands V-game to exist in such detail with lifelike characters. At this point, Ninten might have believed Ana if she told him that Bigfoot was real.

"So what happened this time in the game?" Ana said.

Ninten explained what he saw, and Ana manage not to drift off to sleep by the time Ninten was finished. He considered that a moral victory.

"Whoever made that V-game must have the same feelings for North Korea as your great-grandparents," Ana said.

Ninten frowned. Kim _had_ tried to wipe out human civilization, but his sense of wit and seemingly genuine desire to erase pain meant that he wasn't a faceless enemy. The real leader of North Korea would have made for an easier, shallower villain.

"But I'm sorry you had to go through that," Ana said. "I'm glad that Liu was willing to help you make it a little less painful."

"And I wish that Zhang and Park had at least tried to follow Liu's lead by transferring their minds into their psyspaces," Ninten said. "Chlorine gas kills pretty slowly. They still had hope."

"Sometimes, fear makes people lose hope and do stupid things," Ana said. "I think that's true anywhere."

Ninten nodded, looking around again at Lucas' landscape photographs hanging on the walls. A cluster of pink and purple flowers in a green meadow reminded him of the natural beauty and surreal colors of Lucas' Magicant. Ninten had only spent his time going through one V-game, one tiny part of Lucas' digital database. He wondered if the rest of the Lucas' Magicant was so fleshed out. It couldn't possibly be.

"And sometimes, being obsessed with V-games makes people do stupid things as well," Ana said. "Did I ever tell you about the time my mother confiscated my V-games because I was screaming my lungs off in real life each time I got a game over?"

"I think that happens to a lot of kids."

"I was seventeen at the time."

"…Oh."

"Don't _judge_ me, Ninten." Ana crossed her arms and held her nose high in mock superiority. "Hmph. V-games aren't supposed to be _fun,_ you know. They're about getting good and making you angry."

"I've heard some people say that seriously before."

"Wait, really?"

"Well, a lot of people say that good V-games aren't always fun. I'm not sure what kinds of games they like to play."

"Maybe games like the Nowhere Islands," Ana said with a laugh. "You certainly seem to have your hands full."

"Speaking of which…" Ninten couldn't force himself to meet Ana's gaze.

"You want to go back into the game," Ana said, "Even though I just got you out."

Ninten nodded.

Ana sighed. "You know, I was expecting this to come up before now."

Ninten looked up to see Ana leaning back to close her eyes. As she rested her head once more against the metal bedframe, she cracked a smile.

"I don't blame you," she said, "And I get why you want to go back in. But I feel like I have to bring up some of the cautionary points. You know that whoever trapped you inside Lucas' Magicant might try to again."

"I know, and I would feel terrible if you had to bust me out again." Ninten bit the inside of his cheek. "And in most cases would just listen to you and stay away from anything dangerous."

"But the Nowhere Islands are special, huh?" Ana's eyes flickered back open. "If it were up to me, I would wipe the memory of Lucas' Magicant from our minds. We didn't really find anything there, and that V-game legitimately scares me."

"If you really feel that way, then I wouldn't want to cause more trouble," Ninten said. "You've already done so much for me, and I do appreciate how you rescued me from being stuck in that cave. I won't-"

"Ninten." Ana rolled her head over on the bedframe to look at him. "Do you know why I wanted to finish busting you out of that cave tonight?"

Ninten opened his mouth, and then closed it and shook his head.

"I wanted you to be free," Ana said. "I wanted you to make an actual choice on whether or not you wanted to go back into the Nowhere Islands V-game. I'm not going to take that freedom away, Ninten. This decision is yours and yours alone."

"I…" Ninten grinned, fumbling for the right words. "Ana. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Now I _really_ owe you."

Ana laughed. "You know it's not a competition, Ninten."

Ninten looked back over at Lucas' desk and felt out around him for the warmth of Lucas' psyspace portal.

"Ana," he said. "What if… I do get stuck in Lucas' Magicant again?"

"Then I'll roundhouse kick my way in there and bust you out," Ana said. "Again. Because that's just the kind of friend I am."

Ninten laughed. "Well then. I'll keep that specific image of you roundhouse kicking someone in mind when the Nowhere Islands V-game shows me the next genocide or whatever."

"You had better." Ana raised a fist and made a mock punch towards the portal to Lucas' Magicant. "But for now I am tired, and I should at least get a couple hours of sleep before I literally collapse. Wake me up if anything interesting happens, all right?"

"Uh… are you sure that you don't just want me to let you sleep through the night?"

"Nah." Ana yawned. "I… just need a little bit. Sleep is for the weak."

Ana flashed a halfhearted grin and yawned again, closing her eyes.

"I think you might be weak, then," Ninten said. "Because you look like you _really_ need some sleep right now. I won't keep you up."

Ana grunted. She opened her mouth to speak, but rolled over and plopped down on the rug instead.

"Good night, then," Ana said. "And good luck."

Ninten took a deep breath, closing his eyes and reaching out towards the heat-radiating psyspace portal in front of him. At the last moment, he turned back to look at Ana lying down on the carpet. She already looked like she was sleeping.

"Ann?"

"Yeah?" she kept her eyes closed.

"Thanks again for everything. I don't know what I would do without you."

Ana smiled. "I think you're about to find out."

* * *

Once inside the Nowhere Islands V-game, familiar words made of shaky white letters appeared in front of his floating consciousness.

 _WELCOME TO THE NOWHERE ISLANDS,_

 _AND THANK YOU FOR MAKING IT THIS FAR._

 _YOU HAVE EXPLORED THE ISLANDS ON YOUR OWN,_

 _AND YOU HAVE SEEN WHAT YOU NEEDED._

 _BUT LET ME REITERATE._

 _THE NOWEHRE ISLANDS ARE THE FUTURE, AND THEY ARE THE PAST._

 _THEY ARE REAL,_

 _AND THE PEOPLE INSIDE ARE DOOMED WITHOUT YOU._

 _ONLY YOU CAN HELP THEM, NINTEN._

 _ONLY YOU CAN STOP THE CYCLE OF SUFFERING._

 _AND THIS TIME…_

 _YOU ONLY HAVE ONE CHANCE._

 _BEST OF LUCK._

* * *

Only one chance? Why did the game wait until now to tell him about-

Ninten took a deep breath. Better to focus on where he was and what he could do. He looked around in the same glass box as before and saw a comet flying above, leaving behind its icy trail. When he looked at the walls, he saw that only the door made of red glass, and the trapdoor on the floor had vanished as well.

And standing by the red door was a boy wearing a black uniform shirt and orange pants who refused to meet Ninten's eyes.

"Hey, Claus," Ninten said. "Anything I should know about this playthrough?"

"I'm…" Claus shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For what you had to see. For what you had to _do._ " Claus sighed, looking up at the stars. "And I'm sorry for what you're _going_ to do."

"Claus?"

"You know that the world isn't fair, right? My-" Claus cut himself off and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry that the game's only going to give you one shot. But some people don't get second chances."

"Some people?" Ninten cocked his head.

"I…" Claus bit his lip. "I guess I shouldn't use myself as an example. This _is_ my second chance, really."

Ninten frowned.

"But it's a second chance that's built on lies," Claus said, "It's one that isn't _real._ And if I'm being honest here…" Claus released a nervous laugh, "I was never really given a first chance."

Ninten reminded himself that this was just a V-game, and that anyone who was aware of the larger framework of the game could still consist of digital code. But even in his mind, the words fell flat. Claus was here, and Claus was _real._

"I really shouldn't be talking about myself," Claus said. "You probably don't care."

"No, I do."

Ninten walked over and put his hands on the glass wall closest to Claus, looking out at the orbs of fire blazing in the distance. He twisted his shoulders to look over at Claus, whose gaze was still directed at the transparent floor.

"Claus, I wouldn't _be_ here right now if I didn't care."

"Yeah, I know that Ana busted you out," Claus said. "But I'm just one person out of thousands in this V-game. And you're just in here because you want to find Lucas, right? I don't think my own problems are really worth your time."

"Hey," Ninten said. "I only have to save one person to break the cycle of suffering, right? Every person matters."

Claus flinched, and then looked at Ninten with wide eyes.

"What did I say?" Ninten asked.

"Oh… nothing."

Claus took a deep breath, and amazingly enough, a smile came to his face afterwards. Not one of his wry or humorous smiles, and not a sad or apologetic one, either. His smile still carried a twinge of sorrow with it, but his expression looked genuinely upbeat, genuinely _happy._

For the first time, Ninten could imagine Claus as the boy he met met playing with the Dragos on Mt. Oriander.

"You know," Claus said. "You might have a real chance."

"Claus. What happened? What did I say?"

"I…" Claus chuckled, the sadness in his eyes returning. "I can't tell you. But I _am_ rooting for you. I know that doesn't help, and I'm sorry."

"Claus." Ninten looked the younger boy in the eye. "I know you're doing all you can. I know that you're cheering me on from the sidelines. So there's no need to apologize. And I don't think I've ever thanked you for everything you've done."

Claus frowned. "I'm just doing my job, Ninten."

"If so, then you should be _damn_ proud of your job." Ninten grinned. "I'll do my best, Claus. I'll try everything I can to break the cycle of suffering. And if I do manage to win, it will be due to your effort as much as mine."

Claus laughed, turning away. "Never change, Ninten."

"I only got to where I am now my changing. I'm going to keep learning, Claus. I'm going to keep growing. And the next time I see you, I'll be _better._ "

Claus smiled to himself. "Do you have your Franklin Badge?"

Ninten nodded.

"Make sure you clip it on before you walk into the red door," Claus said. "Trust me on this one."

Ninten shrugged and pulled the Franklin Badge out of his pocket. He ran a finger down the smooth marble surface, his sense of touch mapping out the lightning bolt engraved in the center. Ninten flipped the badge over and noticed for the first time the clip-on diamond hook in the back. Ninten attached the badge to his shirt right over his chest.

"Anything else you're allowed to tell me?" Ninten said.

"Good luck." Claus looked back at Ninten and shrugged. "And no matter which way your playthrough turns out, I'll miss you."

Ninten nodded, and for the first time it really hit him that Lucas' life could depend on Ninten's ability to win a V-game. Talk about pressure. Ninten wondered if soldiers or police officers ever got used to the thought that their actions could determine whether innocent people live or die. He couldn't imagine that they did.

Ninten took a deep breath, holding his hand up to his throat by reflex. He shook his head and took a moment to close his eyes and collect himself. If he was going through the same impulses as when he had an asthma attack, it probably meant he needed to calm down.

The next few moments in the darkness lasted an eternity. Afterwards, Ninten opened his eyes and looked at the door made of red glass in front of him. He looked back at Claus, who flashed a grin.

"You can do it," Claus said. "I didn't think I would ever say those words, but here I am. If anyone's going to end the cycle of suffering and beat the game, it's you."

"Thanks," Ninten said. "I know I can win here. And I _will_ win. I'll win for the people of the Nowhere Islands, and I'll win for Lucas. He could be out there right now, waiting for someone to find him. I can't let him down."

"I like the attitude." Claus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Please, Ninten…"

"Yeah?"

"No matter what happens, don't lose sight of all the good you've done. It means a lot to me, and I know the people created in the game appreciate it as well. If you take your passion for helping people over to real life, there's no doubt in my mind that you'll change the world."

Ninten smiled, but a few of Claus' words nagged him. Claus had just implied that he wasn't one of the characters created with the V-game, which was consistent with what Claus let slip last playthrough about him and others "creating" the V-game themselves.

But he could worry about Claus later. Right now, Ninten was going to go in, save the Nowhere Islands, and find Lucas.

He grabbed onto the glass doorknob, pulled, and thrust open the red door. He closed his eyes as light flooded his vision.

"Good…" Claus' voice sounded distant. "Goodbye, Ninten."

* * *

The stones beneath Ninten's feet radiated a dull glow as sounds of ambiance echoed from further within. Back in the Cave of the Dark Dragon, but this time when Ninten looked up or out he couldn't see walls or the ceiling. He could almost imagine that the darkness above was a black sky, an eternal night.

And Ninten was here to bring daylight back.

Ninten took a deep breath. Only one chance to make it right. Only one chance to save the Nowhere Islands. Only one chance to save Lucas.

Ninten heard what sounded like someone's voice deeper in what seemed like an arbitrary direction among the endless darkness of the cave. Ninten shrugged and walked off towards the noise. It couldn't hurt to check out the sound. He trusted in the game's text after his last playthrough. Sooner or later, he _would_ find the Masked Man and the final needle.

And when he did, it would be time to settle the score one way or another.

* * *

The glowing stones grew dimmer and dimmer, until they eventually faded into darkness. But as the black threatened to consume Ninten entirely, he spotted a pulsating purple light on the ground ahead.

And in the middle of the rings of purple light was a golden, sword-like object embedded into the ground that must have been the final needle.

In the dull purple glow of the area around the needle, Ninten made out three figures. As he got closer, he could make out Kumatora's pink hair. One of the other two figures activated a plasma sword and raised the blade up to the sky. Lightning cracked through the air, illuminating the Cave of the Dark Dragon for a single moment.

And in that moment, Ninten saw Lucas' tear-stained face and the Masked Man's emotionless expression.

As the cave returned to dark, leaving spots in Ninten's vision, Lucas and Kumatora slumped over on the ground. Lucas made and attempt to stand up, and the Masked Man pressed his plasma sword up against Lucas' throat. Lucas made a whimpering noise that echoed throughout the cave.

Okay. Now or never. Ninten let out a shout, using Quick Up on himself and running towards the Masked Man. He succeeded in making the Masked Man look over, and the plasma sword dropped away from Lucas' neck. The Masked Man raised his plasma sword to the sky and Ninten could see a spark of electricity at the tip.

Ninten forced himself not to close his eyes.

The Masked Man fired off a bolt of lightning. It took Ninten a few moments of hearing the cracking lightning without feeling pain to realize that the Franklin Badge was absorbing the bolts like a lightning rod. And more than that, it was firing lightning bolts right back at the Masked Man. The Masked Man grunted in mild surprise and staggered backwards, regaining his balance a moment later.

Thanks for the tip, Claus. Ninten gave his Franklin Badge a thank-you pat.

Ninten ran up to Lucas and Kumatora to see Lucas looking at him in wonder and Kumatora chuckling.

"I'm still not sure if you have the best timing," Kumatora said, "Or the absolute _worst_ timing."

"I guess we'll see," Ninten said, running forward at the Masked Man.

"Wait," Lucas said. "Ninten. That's Claus. Please… please don't hurt him."

"Looks like I don't have a choice."

Ninten steeled himself as Claus darted forward in long, graceful strides. The Masked Man's sword became a blur as he drove the plasma sword through Ninten's chest. Ninten came face to face with the Masked Man, his own chest blossoming in pain. Ninten slammed a knee into the Masked Man's groin and shoved the Masked Man away, using the extra space to heal himself up.

"Ninten," Lucas said. " _Please._ He's my brother."

"I…" Ninten risked a glance over at the last needle. "How about I heal you and we try to run over to the needle as quickly as we can?"

He didn't wait for a response before dashing back to where Lucas was lying limp on the ground. Ninten used Super Healing to breathe life back into the fallen boy, and Lucas staggered to his feet.

Ninten heard a spark of electricity as he looked back at Claus. The Masked Man raised his plasma sword once again, firing a bolt of lightning towards Ninten and Lucas. Ninten's Franklin badge reflected the attack once again, but he heard a desperate scream and looked over as Lucas fell to the floor once again. This time, his eyes were closed and he didn't even twitch.

Unconscious. Yes, Lucas was unconscious, not dead. He _couldn't_ be dead, not with the entire hopes of the Nowhere Islands riding on his ability to pull the final needle.

Ninten looked over to see Kumatora slumped over next to Lucas, unconscious as well. He didn't have time to contemplate the consequences of his actions before the Masked Man barreled at him again, the plasma sword leaving burn marks in the black ground as the Masked Man took long strides towards Ninten.

Ninten darted out of the way, looking around for a weapon that he could use. After circling around the Masked Man, Ninten picked up the baseball bat next to Lucas and held it in his hands. It would do him little good against the might of a plasma sword, but he supposed that it was better than nothing.

Ninten spent what felt like hours backing away and circling around the Masked Man, looking for an opening. But with each step he took, Ninten became more and more certain that the Masked Man wasn't even going to give him another opportunity to get near. And while Ninten's muscles screamed in pain from the exertion and became sluggish, the Masked Man only seemed to get faster. As the battle drew on, the Masked Man started to land stray hits on Ninten. Then the stray slices turned into direct hits, and Ninten's pool of psychic energy bled dry as he used more and more of his PSI to heal himself.

Ninten's heart sunk into his stomach. Just because he was losing slowly didn't meant he was losing any less _decisively._ The Masked Man's every step was graceful, and his every slash was methodical. Ninten couldn't hope to fight someone who never faltered.

The next time Ninten darted out of the way of the Masked Man' plasma sword, the Masked Man lunged forward and slammed his shoulder into Ninten's chest, sending Ninten stumbling and falling to the ground.

Ninten's vision swam. He used the last of his psychic energy to heal himself and his senses returned. He scrambled to his feet and his gaze grazed past Lucas' limp body on the floor.

 _"Please. He's my brother."_

Ninten studied the grey screen in front of the Masked Man' eyes. Ninten didn't know the details about what had happened to Claus, but the world leaders from last playthrough suggested that it was quite feasible to wipe someone's memories. The Masked Man wouldn't remember Lucas or Ninten.

And without Claus' memories, without the experiences that Claus carried around with him, could the boy in front of him really be the same person who play-fought with Dragos and grinned as he tried to drag Ninten into the play group?

Ninten used all of his energy to leap out of the way of the Masked Man's next slash. He had tried to force himself to see the Masked Man and Claus as the same person, but maybe they weren't. Maybe there was nothing left of Claus, and the Masked Man was a completely separate person with a completely different way of thinking and a completely separate identity.

 _"When you boot up the game the next time,_ _Claus won't recognize you,"_ Isaac's voice echoed in his mind. _"He won't remember what happened. Because for him, it really didn't happen."_

Isaac hadn't known, of course, that Claus would alter the game so that the characters kept their memories from Ninten's previous playthroughs. But in a way, the pigmask had been right. Claus didn't remember Ninten here, and he probably never would.

And Ninten, believing Isaac's words and knowing that Claus wouldn't remember him, sacrificed his own life to make sure that Claus escaped the Drago Plateau alive.

Why had he done that?

And even though Ninten didn't understand, he would have sacrificed his life for Claus again. And again. And _again._ Ninten had known that Claus would lose his memories, but he hadn't cared.

 _"Let's say you were trapped in this game forever,"_ Claus' voice echoed in his mind. _"And another version of you started running around the Nowhere Islands, unaware that the entire thing was a simulation. Does that other version of you… have a claim to being you?"_

 _"I don't think so,"_ Ninten heard in his own voice, _"But he still might be Ninten."_

Ninten looked at the Masked Man, studying the boy's blank expression. Maybe memories and experiences _weren't_ everything. Maybe the Masked Man could still be Claus, even if he was a different Claus than Ninten knew.

And if he was still Claus, then Ninten could save him again.

Ninten dropped his baseball bat, hearing it clatter to the ground. The Masked Man hesitated, raising his plasma sword slowly.

"I'm not going to fight you," Ninten said. "I don't care if you're not the same person I saved at the Drago Plateau, _Claus_. You're still human inside."

The Masked Man darted forward and stabbed Ninten. Pain blinded Ninten's vision, but through the agony Ninten forced himself to smile.

"I believe in you."

The Masked Man stabbed Ninten again.

"I _believe_ in you."

The Masked Man stabbed Ninten again.

"Claus…"

The Masked Man stabbed Ninten again.

"Your name is Claus. Do you remember who you are?"

The Masked Man hesitated before unleashing a roundhouse kick on Ninten's side. The sting of his foot was somewhat dulled by the fiery pain of Claus' previous stabs, but the force of the kick sent Ninten tumbling to the ground. Ninten looked up to see the Masked Man standing over him, holding the plasma sword up to Ninten's throat.

Ninten had no psychic energy, a sliver of health, and no strength left in his body.

But he couldn't give up now.

"Claus, please. Lucas needs you. The whole world needs you." Ninten coughed. " _I_ need you."

Claus' expression remained motionless.

"Can you really do it? Can you kill someone who's helpless in front of you?"

"I've…" the Masked Man croaked out the word. "I've done it before."

"I died for you once, Claus. I'd do it again. Kill me, if you really have to."

The Masked Man frowned, pulling his plasma sword away from Ninten's throat.

"You," Claus said, "Make absolutely _no_ sense."

"Claus." Ninten sat up. "Are you-"

The Masked Man silenced Ninten by swinging his plasma sword back around, halting it an inch before it sliced Ninten's head off. The Masked Man' face trembled, and a moment later he deactivated his plasma sword. Ninten stared at the Masked Man, too scared to breathe.

"I can't…" The Masked Man looked over at the last needle and reached out. "You shouldn't have done this. You shouldn't have-"

The Masked Man jerked his head back over to look at Ninten.

"Shouldn't have done what?" Ninten said.

Claus took a step back.

"Claus, you can _tell_ me."

"You shouldn't have reawakened my heart. The reason I submitted to the pigmasks in the first place was so that I could-" He looked back over at the needle. "I _have_ to pull it. They programmed that urge into me. I can't fight it."

The Masked Man took a step towards the final needle.

"Claus."

"This is it." The Masked Man took another step. "This is the end."

 _"Claus pulled the last Needle, passed his heart onto the Dark Dragon, and nothing happened."_

 _"Claus' heart wasn't really good or evil. It was just empty. So the Dark Dragon didn't destroy the world, and it didn't save the world. It just did nothing."_

Kumatora had spoken those words to him in Saturn Valley. And in the context of those quotes, it made sense why Claus had submitted to the pigmasks and became the Masked Man. He had emptied his heart on _purpose,_ so that when he passed his heart onto the dragon he wouldn't destroy the world.

And now Claus' heart had returned.

Ninten stood frozen for a moment, _trying_ to reach out and speak but finding his lungs and body encased with ice. The Masked Man took another step towards the final needle.

If Claus pulled the last needle now, the world would _end._

"C-Claus." It took all of Ninten's willpower to get that single word out.

The Masked Man turned back and looked at Ninten, tears running down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Ninten," the Masked Man said. "I'm sorry. There's no other way."

"There has to be. It can't end like this."

"I'm sorry." The Masked Man turned away.

"Claus. We'll find a way. We'll work through this together. We're friends, right?"

The Masked Man froze in place.

"Friends?" he said.

"Yes. We're _friends,_ and friends lean on each other."

"Friends." The Masked Man said the word slowly, as if testing out how it sounded.

"We can find a way to save the world together. As a team. I know we can do it."

"No," Claus said. "We can't."

"There _has_ to be a way."

"There isn't."

"We can find a way."

"We won't."

"Claus…"

"Just shut _up._ " The Masked Man' body stiffened. "You can't kill me, Ninten. Nobody can. And I can't stop myself from… _from…"_

The Masked Man reached out, his hand trembling as he took another step towards the needle.

"You have to fight it, Claus."

The Masked Man took another step towards the needle.

"You know what will happen if you pull the needle, right?"

The Masked Man took another step towards the needle.

"The world will be destroyed."

The Masked Man took another step towards the needle.

" _Everything_ will be destroyed."

The Masked Man halted in front of the needle.

"Claus, _please._ "

The Masked Man reached out towards the needle.

"The world is going to _end!"_ Tears streamed down Ninten's face. Why couldn't he just _see?_

The Masked Man flinched, his shoulders tensing.

"You don't have to shout," the Masked Man said.

Ninten broke down into hysterical, sobbing laughter. He didn't have to shout. He didn't have to fucking _shout._ When the world was ending, no less! Of _course_ , Ninten was the silly one for shouting and making a big fuss. After all, it was only the entire world on the line. No big deal. Ninten never needed one of those in the first place.

"Why do you care so much?" the Masked Man asked.

"I don't-" a sob cut off Ninten's sentence. "I don't know."

The Masked Man grabbed onto the needle and tensed his arm muscles.

"But I do know," Ninten said, "That I died for you once."

The Masked Man hesitated.

"I do know that I would die for you again."

The Masked Man took his hands off the final needle.

"And I do know that I will not go out quietly. I will scream my _head_ off for this beautiful planet. It deserves that much, at least."

The Masked Man turned back towards Ninten.

"You said that you can't stop yourself from pulling the needle," Ninten said. "But is there anything I can do to stop you?"

"You'll do… _anything_ to stop me from destroying the world?" the Masked Man said.

"Yes." Ninten wiped away his tears. "Anything."

After a moment's hesitation, The Masked Man took off his helmet and tossed it aside, revealing a face with soft cheeks, a small nose, and blue eyes almost identical to Lucas'. His bright red hair was the only noticeable marker that differentiated him from his twin.

"Then," Claus said, activating his plasma sword again, "I guess there _is_ a way."

This time, Ninten didn't flinch or freeze. He looked at the plasma sword hissing in Claus' hands and then up again at Claus' face, trying to read the boy's expression.

It wasn't hard. Claus gritted his teeth, and tears streamed down his face as his shoulders slumped over in defeat. He looked up and his eyes gave Ninten an apology that no words ever could.

"What do you need me to do?" Ninten said.

"Stand perfectly still." Claus pointed his plasma sword at Ninten.

So this was how it ended. Ninten didn't know why Claus would keep fighting now, but he couldn't be angry looking at Claus' tears and desperate eyes. Claus said that there was a way to save the world together, and Ninten was ready to accept whatever Claus had in mind. Claus took a step towards Ninten, keeping his plasma sword pointed at Ninten's chest.

"You'll do it," Claus said, a single tear trickling down his left cheek. "You'll really do _anything_ to save the world."

"I… I will."

"Then maybe," Claus said, "There is something in this world worth saving."

Claus raised his sword up to the sky.

"Goodbye, Ninten."

Ninten realized a moment too late what was happening. He opened his mouth to shout, but no words came out.

The top of Claus' plasma sword cracked with electricity, and the static cracking in the air was enough to make Ninten's hair stand up. Claus lowered his sword and pointed it at Ninten's chest.

"You died for me once," Claus said. "You would die for me again."

Claus fired a succession of lightning bolts at Ninten. Once again, the Franklin Badge drew the lightning close and directed it back at Claus. Lightning continued to pour out of Claus' sword as his body jolted and spasmed from the reflected electricity.

"Now…" Claus croaked out, falling to his hands and knees. He managed a grin, and in that moment Ninten was back on Mt. Oriander watching Claus play-fight Dragos. "Let me die for you."

Claus took a deep breath and fired one last lightning bolt. The electricity bounced off of Ninten's Franklin badge, and the reflected bolt struck Claus one more time. Claus' body spasmed once before falling still.

The entire world fell silent.

"No." Ninten ran up to Claus' body on the black ground. "Claus, you can't…"

Ninten checked Claus' pulse. Nothing. Ninten cradled Claus' head in his arms, squeezing his eyes shut and trying not to cry.

"I died for you once."

Tears streamed out of Ninten's eyes.

"I would die for you again."

Ninten cut off a sob.

"But all this time, I never thought…"

Ninten looked out at the last golden needle, and at the dull purple light coming from the ground nearby.

"I never thought that you would die for me."


	13. Judgment

After what felt like hours, Ninten set Claus' head down and forced himself to stand up. He could keep mourning later, but the world couldn't afford to wait any longer.

"Hey," came Lucas' voice.

Ninten turned around to see Lucas and Kumatora walking towards him. Kumatora flashed a weak smile while Lucas looked down at Claus' body with silent tears running down his cheeks.

"Wait," Ninten said. "How did you-"

"Kumatora played dead," Lucas said, "And then fed me a cup of Lifenoodles."

Ninten blinked.

"Enhanced with PSI to give the body a full recovery," Kumatora said. "We have some crazy shit here on the Nowhere Islands."

Lucas knelt down next to Claus and brushed a hand over his brother's face.

"I wish it had been me to bring him back to his senses," Lucas said. "I wish I had been strong enough. But thank you, Ninten. I think that you literally just saved the world."

"Yeah." Kumatora grinned. "I think that Duster and Boney are smiling down on us right now. Thank you for making sure their sacrifice wasn't in vain."

Ninten couldn't explain why those words brought another round of tears to his eyes.

Lucas looked over at the last needle. "I think I'm ready. I…" Lucas chuckled. "I spent so much time thinking about how to get to the last needle that I guess I never really thought about what would happen once I actually got there."

Lucas led Ninten and Kumatora over to the needle, and he walked up and put his hands on the needle. The purple light from the ground illuminated Lucas' body from below, casting him in a dull glow. Lucas closed his eyes. He looked so peaceful, standing there with a serene expression. He could have been sleeping

"This is it," Lucas said. "Time to see if my heart is pure enough to protect all of the life in this world. Time to see if we can really get a second chance."

"You can do it," Ninten said. "You _do_ want a new start for everyone, don't you?"

"Of course," Lucas said, his expression focusing. "I want to protect everyone I can."

"Then you don't have anything to worry about.'

"I… guess I don't." Lucas flashed a nervous smile.

Still, a certain line from Claus bugged Ninten. Not Claus in this playthrough, but the "moderator" Claus who had given Ninten guidance and PSI abilities. Claus said that some people didn't get second chances. What if the whole myth about the Dark Dragon was just that—a myth?

Ninten shook his head. He had come this far believing Kumatora's story about the Dark Dragon. Claus had killed himself to stop his own body from pulling the final needle. The legend _had_ to be real.

"Here goes nothing," Lucas said. After a moment, he laughed. "No. Here goes _everything._ "

Lucas took a deep breath and pulled the needle out of the ground. The ground started to rumble as the golden needle shattered into a million gold specks and vanished into the darkness. Lucas and Kumatora looked at each other, and then closed their eyes. Probably smart. Nothing they could do now. Ninten closed his own eyes, but a deep roar startled them back open.

Lucas' body collapsed to the ground. Kumatora knelt down and placed a hand on the side of Lucas' neck.

"He still has a pulse," she said. "I just hope that the Dark Dragon treats his heart delicately."

Ninten nodded, trying to keep his balance with the ground shaking beneath him.

The next moment, the rumbling stopped. Ninten looked over at Kumatora to see that there _was_ no Kumatora. She and Lucas had vanished from sight, leaving Ninten in the dark.

Ninten took a deep breath. Maybe the cave had just gone dark after the ground around the needle stopped glowing.

"Kumatora?" he said.

In response, shaky white letters started to appear in the air in front of him.

* * *

 _CONGRATULATIONS, NINTEN. YOU MANAGED TO SAVE THE LIVES OF LUCAS, KUMATORA, AND COUNTLESS MORE._

Ninten looked down. Yep, his body was definitely still there. And this time, he could really _see_ the words in front of him instead of having them float in front of his overall consciousness. Still, he could only assume that this was the same process as when he died in game.

 _LUCAS PASSED HIS HEART TO THE DARK DRAGON, AND THEN THE DRAGON DETROYED THE WORLD AND REMADE IT ANEW._

 _HE ALSO MANAGED TO PROTECT ALL LIFE ON EARTH._

 _BUILDINGS FELL._

 _PIGMASK SUITS FELL TO TATTERS._

 _YET NOT A SINGLE LIFE WAS HARMED._

 _THE WORLD WAS REBORN INTO AN ERA OF PEACE_

Ninten smiled to himself. He had _actually_ done it.

 _BUT IT WAS STILL NOT ENOUGH._

Wait, _what?_ Ninten felt the blood drain from his face.

 _BECAUSE EVEN CREATING A NEW WORLD WASN'T ENOUGH TO STOP THE CYCLE OF SUFFERING._

 _PEOPLE FORMED BACK INTO NATIONS AND CRUSADED AGAINST OUTSIDERS._

 _FORMER PIGMASKS REDISCOVERED TECHNOLOGY AND CREATED NEW MACHINES CAPABLE OF EXPLOITNG WORKERS AND DESTROYING THE ENVIRONMENT._

"No," Ninten said out loud. "I _won._ I saved all of them."

A voice in the distance laughed at him.

 _LUCAS WASN'T THE ONE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAVE._

 _KUMATORA WASN'T THE ONE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAVE._

 _NONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT LUCAS PRESERVED WERE THE ONE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAVE._

 _YOU NEEDED TO SAVE ONE PERSON,_

 _AND HE WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT YOU LET DIE._

The back of Ninten's throat went dry. "You mean Claus. But I _did_ save him, earlier."

 _YOU WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO SAVE CLAUS._

 _YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAVE THE MASKED MAN._

Ninten opened his mouth, but no words came out. The distinction between Claus and the Masked Man was horribly unfair for the game to make, but thinking about Ana's haunted eyes as she talked about the possibility of Lucas' death made Ninten's own failure weigh on him more than his anger.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Lucas was supposed to come home safe.

 _THE MASKED MAN WAS HUMANITY'S ONLY HOPE._

 _HE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD TRULY STOP THE CYCLE OF SUFFERING._

Suddenly, a realization cut through Ninten's mind, culling his sorrow and anger and replacing them with horror. Ninten understood why he was supposed to save the Masked Man rather than Claus. He understood what the game wanted him to see in Saturn Valley and in the tunnels underneath Seoul, and what it wanted him to with that knowledge.

Even in the world that Lucas created with the Dark Dragon's assistance, there would always be suffering. In _any_ world with human civilization, there would always be suffering. A pure utopia didn't exist. There would be good times, and there would be bad times.

So the only way to stop the bad times and eliminate the cycle of suffering forever was to…

Was to…

Ninten couldn't force himself to say it out loud.

 _DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAVE THE MASKED MAN?_

"Yes," Ninten said, his own voice sounding distant. "Yes, I do."

For the first time, Ninten let his shoulders slump over in defeat. For the first time, Ninten didn't have a retort ready. Because he finally understood _exactly_ what he was supposed to accomplish in the Nowhere Islands V-game.

And it was something that Ninten would _never_ be able to force himself to do.

 _YES, NINTEN. I SEE NOW THAT YOU FINALLY UNDERSTAND._

Ninten nodded along, waiting for the words that he knew would come.

 _YOU WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO HELP LUCAS SAVE THE WORLD._

 _YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO HELP THE MASKED MAN DESTROY IT._


	14. Behind the Waterfall Sprite

**Okay, this chapter's long but I didn't want to split it up because I don't think taking just parts of it tell the same story as pushing it out all at once. So I apologize, but I do think it's for the best.**

 **And thanks for everyone who's read this far. :) We're going to resolve Ninten's journey through the Nowhere Islands today... more or less, anyway.**

 **There are still more chapters to come, though. Stay tuned! :D**

* * *

 **Review Response: YoKaiShoubiao:** Hopefully this chapter will answer your questions... although it might raise quite a few more. ;) And I hope that the ending is up to your standards. I'm still a while away from finishing this story, but my goal is get it done by the end of October.

* * *

 _YOU WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO HELP LUCAS SAVE THE WORLD._

 _YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO HELP THE MASKED MAN DESTROY IT._

The words echoed in Ninten's mind. Even when the words faded away and became a whisper in the back of his skull, Ninten couldn't focus on anything else.

This was it.

He had tried and failed to beat the Nowhere Island V-game.

Because he had _never_ been prepared for this possibility.

"The truth that you wanted me to see in Saturn Valley," Ninten said, "The truth that Claus said I couldn't stop. It wasn't the Mr. Saturns dying. It was the pigmasks _surviving,_ even after the Masked Man pulled the final needle."

 _YES._

"And you showed me how the world almost ended in the tunnels beneath Seoul because you wanted me to end the world in the same way."

 _YES._

"You agreed with Kumatora and Hinawa that the world should go up in flames. You agreed with Namiko and Kim that humanity should be destroyed."

 _KUMATORA SAW THE TRUTH, BUT SHE WAS HELD BACK BY HER PITY._

"Compassion is never a weakness."

 _KIM AND NAMIKO ALSO HAD THE RIGHT IDEA. BUT THEY DIDN'T GO FAR ENOUGH. HUMANS ARE NOT THE ONLY BLIGHT ON THIS EARTH._

 _HUMANS ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES WHO FORM SOCIEITES._

 _HUMANS ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES WHO SUFFER._

 _THE GEARS OF EVOLUTION HAVE BEEN CRANKING FOR BILLIONS OF YEARS. AND THEY ARE NOT JUST TURNING._

 _THEY ARE ACCELERATING._

 _IF HUMANS WERE TO DIE, ANOTHER SPECIES WOULD EVENTUALLY TAKE OUR PLACE._

 _AND THE CYCLE OF SUFFERING WOULD CONTINUE._

"And Hinawa?" Ninten said, rasing an eyebrow.

 _AS FOR HER…_

The white words faded away. A woman floated in the black background, her red dress fluttering as she floated down and landing on the invisible ground. She looked over at Ninten and flashed a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Well," Hinawa said. "She's the one who's been running the game this whole time."

Ninten's heart skipped a beat. He started on numbly as Hinawa vanished and then appeared right in front of Ninten. She proceeded to chuckle while walking circles around Ninten.

"Lucas ran into the same problems when he played this game," she said. "He just couldn't let _go._ I knew that you never had a chance of saving the Masked Man and ending the cycle of suffering. I knew that you never had a chance of breaking the cycle of suffering. But I had to give you a fair shot."

"Please," Ninten said. "I _need_ to win. Claus said that he knows where Lucas is, and-"

"He should have never made that deal with you." Hinawa cut off Ninten's reply with a curt hand motion. "He knew that you were never going to win. He gave you false hope to keep going. That's what everyone does. They tell you that everything's going to turn out _okay,_ and that there's a reason we should keep living. But this world deserves to end."

"Lucas is your _son._ Please, tell me where he is."

"There's still so much you don't understand," Hinawa said. "About me, and about Lucas. There's so much that you never will understand. I don't blame you for that. But I also require you to stay _out of the fucking way._ Leave the Nowhere Islands once and for all. You are not welcome here."

" _Please."_ Ninten fell to his knees to beg. "I saw everything you wanted me to. I made friends and sacrificed my life over and over again to save the world. All so that I could find Lucas and bring him back home safe. That's… all I ever wanted…"

"No. You wanted to feel accomplished, _superior."_ Hinawa sneered. "And even if your intentions were pure, I wouldn't be able to help. You didn't save the Masked Man, and you didn't end the cycle of suffering. You _lost,_ Ninten. Now be a good loser and get out before I do something that I'll regret."

"Wrong on all counts," came another voice.

Ninten looked over at the side to see Claus standing in the emptiness, his black jacket and orange pants just as visible as Hinawa's or Lucas' clothes on the black background. Claus held his helmet in his hands, and walked forward up to Hinawa and Ninten. Claus kept his face downcast, but he rolled his eyes around towards Ninten and shared a secretive smile.

"Well, what an entrance," Hinawa said flatly. "You know that I'll take full disciplinary measures against you for stepping out of line, Claus."

"You can't." Claus looked up at Hinawa and grinned. "Because Ninten _won._ "

Wait, he had?

Hinawa frowned. "What are you talking about? He didn't save the Masked Man. He didn't stop the cycle of suffering."

"He saved me," Claus said.

Ninten blinked.

"You?" Hinawa laughed. "Claus, you are not the Masked Man."

Claus put his helmet on and stuck his tongue out.

"Well now I am."

"You know that doesn't _count._ The Masked Man was empty, battered down by the pigmasks-"

"Oh, and you don't think I was?" Claus crossed his arms. "You don't think I resigned to my fate just like the Masked Man in the game after watching the Nowhere Islands end in tragedy again and again?"

Hinawa fumbled for words. "It's not the same."

"How is it not?"

"It just _isn't._ Besides, I make the rules, and I say that Ninten doesn't win."

"But you don't get to decide who I am," Claus said. "And you don't get to decide what being saved means. I am the Masked Man, and Ninten saved me. In doing so, he broke the cycle of suffering. That's not something you can argue with."

Really? Because Ninten could put up quite a few arguments himself against Claus' logic. Claus smiled at Ninten a second time, quelling some of his doubts. With Lucas' life potentially on the line, Claus wouldn't fail Ninten now.

"So let's say that you are the Masked Man, which I do _not_ agree with," Hinawa said. "How exactly did Ninten 'save' you? You weren't in any danger before he arrived."

"He showed me that it's possible to care, even when the world is determined to beat us down," Claus said. "He showed me that it's possible to help others in a time of need instead of pointing fingers. After Lucas stopped playing and before Ninten arrived, I lost all hope that this game would be anything other than a purgatory where my life's failures flash before my eyes."

Hinawa laughed. "Is it not?"

"No, it is. But maybe that's okay. I can't take back my mistakes, and I can't fix them, but I can remember that there's more to life than all of my failures. The wingbeat of a butterfly, the veins of a maple leaf… life is delicate, but there's a certain beauty to it that I'll never be able to take away. When Ninten looked into death's face and managed to laugh after saving a Mr. Saturn from the genocide, he helped me see that. So even after all the pain I caused… I know that life does go on."

Hinawa snorted. "Life goes on to suffer. I'll grant you that being 'saved' means different things for different people, but I think you're bluffing just because you like Ninten."

"I was supposed to be his judge, his enemy, and Ninten managed to get through and touch my heart. I like him _because_ he saved me, mother."

"Claus, you're being silly." Hinawa sighed. "Your life before Ninten was perfectly-"

"Perfectly _not_ all right," Claus said. "It's not up to you to decide whether or not being stuck with a constant reminder of my most painful moments is okay _._ "

Ninten almost hugged Claus right then and there. He didn't know which painful moments Claus was referring to, but Ninten didn't always have to understand in order to care.

Hinawa pursed her lips. "Fine. You have that right. But even if Ninten saved you, and even if you _are_ the Masked Man, he didn't break the cycle of suffering. The people in Lucas' new world will continue to feel pain."

"And again, you are wrong," Claus said. "He ended _our_ cycle of suffering."

Hinawa frowned. "Explain."

Claus took a deep breath and pressed his hands together. The world started to rumble around Ninten once more. A blurry background came into the emptiness and slowly entered into focus. A breeze blew past Ninten, ruffling Claus' hair. The sound of a waterfall played in the background. Different bits and pieces of the scene entered play. The blue sky came into focus first, and then the trees in the distance. More and more trees sprouted up on the land below, and before long the top of a waterfall came into focus right in front of Ninten and Hinawa. Grass appeared under Ninten's feet, and the land past Ninten sprouted up with more trees and rocks.

After a couple of minutes, the scene of a river and waterfall in the middle of a forest looked just as realistic and organic as any other environment in the Nowhere Islands. A sparrow chirped in the distance. The invisible floors and empty space where Hinawa and Claus bickered were relegated to a distant memory.

And at the edge of the waterfall, staring out at the trees below was a blond-haried boy with the same cowlick as Claus. He turned around, and his deep blue eyes shone with an ancient wisdom as he walked along the side of the river towards Ninten and Hinawa. His feet seemed to glide over the rocks as he walked forward, hardly ever touching the ground.

"Lucas," Ninten said, taking a step forward. "Is it really you?"

"Thank you for helping me save the world, Ninten," Lucas said. "Look at what we created together."

Lucas gestured towards the air around him and closed his eyes. More sparrows sang the song in the distance, and the gurgling of the river matched with the sounds of crashing waterfall below were enough to relax Ninten's posture. Lucas took a deep breath, and it was only then that Ninten noticed the crispness of the new air.

"But I must be dreaming," Lucas said, frowning. "Mother? Claus? Did the Dark Dragon bring you back to life?"

Hinawa's body shook with rage. "Claus, do you know what you just did?"

"Mother." Lucas' eyes widened. "Please. If this is about me, I don't mind. I'm glad that Ninten has a chance to meet you for real, mother. Well, maybe not for _real,_ since I still think I'm imagining all of this…"

Lucas smiled and walked up to Hinawa, his wide eyes drinking in all of her features.

"I also wanted to say thank you for everything you've done," Lucas said. "Sometimes, I would think about giving up and then I would remember all of the days we spent playing with Dragos and swimming in lakes. I would remember the stories you would tell us about each constellation, and how the night sky was always such a friendly place for me. I would remember all of the omelets you made us, smiling as Claus and I scarfed down each one. I realized that I had to keep fighting for the little things. I was fighting for droplets of clear rain and blades of grass swaying in the breeze. I couldn't let the pigmasks take that away from us."

"I…" Hinawa took a step back. "Lucas, what are you saying?"

"And I'm sorry," Lucas said, "If you ever felt that I fell short. You gave me a good life, and all I ever wanted was to preserve that experience for everyone else. I know that Duster and Boney paid the ultimate price, but I know that they're in a better place now. Just…" Lucas grinned. "Just like you and Claus."

Ninten looked back and forth between Hinawa and Lucas. Hinawa's face paled, and she took another step away from her son. Ninten frowned. She should have known that Lucas would create a world rife with natural beauty this after awakening the Dark Dragon. She should have known that he would be happy with where he turned out.

"See, mother?" Claus said, stepping forward. "Yes, people will always suffer, but Ninten broke the cycle that makes them feel alone and powerless again and again. He replaced the cycle of suffering with a cycle of joy. There will always be sad times, but now everyone has enough happiness to balance out the sorrow."

Lucas nodded along. "It's pessimistic to say that people will always suffer. It's technically true, but I prefer to look at the world from a different perspective. Our suffering only makes our joy that much sweeter. And now, nobody will have to live out their lives in the same monotonous routines over and over. We can't have smiles without tears. I think it took me a little too long to see that."

"For what it's worth," Ninten said. "I think that's a great way to look at the world. Not everyone gets a fair shot at life, but I think anyone can appreciate the small joys and I think we all can get something out of the life we've been given. And this new start makes me hopeful."

Lucas looked over at a sparrow chirping in a nearby tree. He laughed and whistled the same tune back to the bird.

"I'm hopeful as well, of course," Lucas said. "I mean, we did it. We _won._ Now we just have to live out the rest of our lives in the way we want. Doesn't that sound nice? I've always wanted to learn more about Dragos. The creatures are smart enough that I always wondered if we could find a way to communicate with them and figure out how they really think. Now I have my whole life to figure out."

"You…" Hinawa cleared her throat. "Do you really mean that, Lucas?"

"Yeah, of course." Lucas frowned. "Is there something wrong with befriending Dragos?"

Hinawa looked back at Ninten, her eyes conflicted.

"I guess," she said, "That I can't say no when both of my sons are so fucking _cheery._ I…" Hinawa bit her lip, waving a hand. "I just put a file tracking the location where Lucas accessed his psyspace. You can upload it to the psyweb and then access it yourself anytime. That's what you wanted, right?"

Ninten blinked.

"Wait," he said. "Does that mean I won?"

Hinawa forced a smile. "I suppose it does. I still don't approve of your choices, but Claus seems to think that you did really stop the suffering of the Nowhere Islands, and he's providing quite the piece of evidence right here. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt."

Ninten nodded along, but his heart pounded in his chest as he studied Hinawa's conflicted expression.

Something was _wrong_ here. Hinawa shouldn't have been convinced by an in-game version of Lucas that the suffering would stop forever. Ninten tried to think of what such a contradiction could mean, but his mind came up blank.

"I think we need to go now, Lucas," Hinawa said. Looking at Ninten, " _All_ of us."

"All right, then." Lucas smiled at Ninten. "We only saw each other a few times, but that doesn't make you any less of my friend in my eyes. I hope you know that. And…"

"And?" Ninten said.

"And I'm sure we'll meet again." He turned towards Claus. "Just like what you told me, right?"

"Uh, yeah." Claus grinned and nodded. "Of course."

"I wish you could stay for longer, Claus." Lucas sighed. "I wish you could all stay for longer. But you'll always be near in my heart. I know that sounds corny, but I'm already hanging onto my precious memories of the time I spent with each of you. So goodbye, I guess."

"Goodbye," Ninten said.

Ninten did his best to hide his uncertainty with one last smile.

"Time to go," Hinawa said. "I hope we all got what we wanted out of this exchange."

She waved her hand once more, and Ninten felt his consciousness floating out of his body.

* * *

Ninten looked at a sprite of a map in front of him in the sunflower fields of Lucas' Magicant. The simplified model of a red dotted line and an X on a piece of worn paper made Ninten suspect that the sprite was some sort of default setting rather than Lucas' other hand-crafted creations.

Ninten shrugged and put his hand on the sprite, transferring his consciousness into the file.

The data file gave him access to a 3-D map that showed him both his position and the position of Lucas' other psyspace portal as blinking red dots on a blue background. The map also gave Ninten a view of various landmarks between the two points. The buildings of the university took up relatively little space between Ninten and Lucas, so Lucas had probably taken the bus somewhere far off campus. Ninten zoomed in on Lucas' position and saw the words "Sullivan Park" floating above Lucas' general area.

The name sounded familiar. He might have gone there with Ana before.

Ninten removed his consciousness from the file and sent in the PSI order to upload the file to the psyweb, locking the online website with a mindscan. Ninten grinned and looked around at the silver wisps in the deep, purple sky as the sunflowers swayed by his knees.

He didn't really _know_ where Lucas was, but for the first time he had a lead. Hopefully going to the place where Lucas accessed his psyspace just two days ago would give Ninten some clues about where he would gone since.

"Thanks for the help, Claus," Ninten said out loud.

Then he closed his eyes and transferred his mind out of Lucas' Magicant for what might be the last time.

* * *

"Ann." Ninten shook Ana's body on the carpet. "I found-"

Ana cut Ninten off with a yawn. She blinked and looked up at him with bloodshot eyes. Ana closed her eyes again.

"Ann…"

"I'm just checking the time," Ana said.

"I promise that this is worth waking up at three in the morning for."

Ana yawned again and opened her eyes, stretching her arms up to the ceiling.

"What happened in the game?" Ana said.

"I did it," Ninten said. "Claus showed me where Lucas created another portal to the psyspace, and I can access the exact location on the psyweb anytime I want. He apparently went to Sullivan Park."

"To take a nature walk?" Ana laughed. "Looking at the posters on his wall, I should have guessed as much."

"Although…" Ninten paused. "I don't want to kill the party, but something did feel wrong about how I won."

Ninten gave Ana a quick recap of what happened, focusing mostly on Hinawa's initial denial of his victory and how Claus convinced her otherwise.

"So do you think Hinawa gave you the wrong location?" Ana said, frowning.

"I'm not sure. But the place we have is a better lead anything else I've been able to find. It also seems weird that Hinawa wouldn't want me to find her son."

"She's probably just programmed that way. V-games need to have conflict, after all." Ana cocked her head. "Although with the Nowhere Islands V-game, anything's possible. I do see why you're a little nervous, since there's still so much we don't know. Why did Lucas disappear in the first place? Why did he transfer that massive data file to his psyspace? Who made the Nowhere Islands V-game, and what was their goal? In some ways, it feels like we're still at square one."

"But at least now we know which direction we go to hit square two," Ninten said.

"Exactly." Ana beamed. "Do you want to head over to Sullivan Park now?"

"Wait," Ninten said. "Like, now as in after sunrise? Or now as in _now?_ "

"If Lucas is out there, he could be hurt," Ana said. "He might be unconscious. This could be important to get squared away quickly."

"And you feel safe going out to Sullivan Park in the middle of the night?"

Ana shrugged. "If we're together, people probably won't bother us. And if bad comes to worse…" Ana cracked her knuckles. "I can protect both of us."

Ninten smiled. Both of them _were_ psychics, so they should theoretically be able to shove any assailants away with force pulses. The thought calmed his heart rate somewhat.

"You don't have a car, right?" Ana said.

"I don't, yeah." Ninten yawned. "Never liked driving all that much."

"I guess we'll go over to my apartment and take mine, then. I can drink some cold coffee while I'm there so I don't fall asleep at the wheel."

"And so that you don't fall asleep for the rest of the night," Ninten said.

"Hey, I can sacrifice a night's sleep to help Lucas. Besides, I wouldn't mind sleeping during the day and skipping chemistry tomorrow. Talk about a worthless class."

Yeah, a worthless class that Ana was doing all the homework for and getting nearly perfect scores on all the test. If most of the people in the 500-person lecture hall had known her, they would be furious with how easily she could rub two numbers together to create the right answer.

"Do you always just have a stockpile of cold coffee in your apartment?" Ninten said.

"A girl's got to be prepared." Ana grinned. "Now come on. Lucas could be in danger while you grill me on these details."

* * *

Ana did in fact have multiple bottles of coffee in her fridge, along with some bottled tea. Apparently, she made all of it from scratch and poured it into empty Starbucks bottles to try and trick her body into thinking the coffee was high-quality.

Ninten found his solution of not drinking coffee to be far easier.

After Ninten and Ana got on the road in Ana's little Honda Fit and the streetlights whizzed by in the darkness, Nintne realized that they really didn't have a way back into Lucas' room. If they wanted to access his psyspace again, they would have to do so from the portal Lucas made in Sullivan Park. And that was assuming Hinawa and Claus weren't lying to him about Lucas installing his own portal in the middle of nowhere.

Ninten must had nodded off during the car ride, because he jolted awake as Ana parked the car next to the side of the road. She hopped out of the driver's seat, and Ninten looked for oncoming headlights before darting out of the passenger seat and walking over to the side of the road.

Now that his eyes had been attuned to the darkness, Ninten could see a small visitor's center for the park down the road. Of course, all of the lights were turned off at three in the morning, but Ninten did recognize the design of the building.

Ana bent down and picked up a nearby stick. She muttered an incantation, and the tip of the stick lit up like a flashlight. Ninten squinted through the light as he looked down at the trails branching off from the road and visitor's center.

"Mind giving me access to the map with Lucas' location?" Ana said.

Ninten nodded and channeled his consciousness into the psyweb. He still had the map open from earlier, and he sent a mental order to allow access to Ana's mindscan ID as well as his own.

"Done." Ninten opened his eyes and looked down into the forested paths. "Do you really think Lucas is down there?"

Ana shrugged, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them and looking down the leftmost path.

"Looks like he went that way," Ana said. "I zoomed in on the map and the portal's pretty close to one of the trails, but far enough away that nobody would see him from the path."

Ninten gulped and nodded. What if Lucas wasn't there? What if he hadn't left behind any clues and Ninten only stumbled upon a lone portal to the same Magicant he had been visiting for the past day? What if the portal wasn't real and Hinawa had led him to a false location?

Deep breaths, Ninten. No use in worrying about it now. Ana seemed to notice his nervousness, for she smiled and scooted closer.

"It's okay, Ninten," she said. "Nobody's going to hurt us out here. Not with my fancy wand. Expelliarmus!"

Ana pointed her glowing stick into the darkness and grinned. She looked back at Ninten and then started walking down the path. With a sigh, Ninten followed behind, making sure to stay within a pace or two of Ana. He didn't _really_ think that anyone would harm him out here in the night, but it never hurt to be too careful.

The dirt path took Ana and Ninten down a set of slopes. When Ninten commented to Ana about the steepness of the slope, she only laughed.

"I guess that's what happens when we live between two mountain ranges," she said.

Point taken, but it didn't take Ninten long for his mind to focus on other oddities of the path. Some of the trees looked a little too straight, and others looked a little to twisted. Ninten reminded himself again and again that he was probably just projecting his own uncertainty on his surroundings, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was _wrong._

Once again, he went back to the conversation with Hinawa, Claus, and Lucas at the waterfall. What had it been that had forced Hinawa to accept Ninten's victory? It seemed like she had taken the in-game Lucas' words over Ninten's or Claus', but trusting someone contained within a single playthrough over Claus simply didn't make any sense.

What was Ninten missing?

He didn't find answers to the question as Ana led him further and further along the path, and still didn't have any solid guesses by the time that she halted in front of a stream and looked into the trees. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe Ninten _had_ just won and now he would find Lucas.

Somehow, he didn't think so.

"Well, Lucas' portal is right here in these trees," Ana said. "You ready?"

Now that the footsteps had stopped, Ninten heard the quiet sound of gurgling water from the stream in front of him. And further in the distance, he heard the sound of water cascading and crashing.

"It will probably just be a portal," Ana said, to herself more than Ninten. "He's probably moved away from this spot in the two days since he made the portal. But there's always a chance."

"Ana, do you hear a waterfall?"

Ana paused, cocking her head. "Yeah, it does sound like one. Sometimes they sound a lot bigger than they actually are, though. Don't worry, we're not going to stumble over the edge of a waterfall in the darkness."

Ninten bit his lip. He wasn't worried about falling off a cliff, but the noise put him on edge for reasons he couldn't quite explain.

"Are you ready?" Ana repeated.

"Y-Yeah, I guess. Might as well get it over with."

The words couldn't explain the rising panic in Ninten's chest. Lucas' _life_ could depend on what they found here.

He didn't have time to formulate any more thoughts before Ana walked off between the trees. Ninten followed, staying close to Ana as he looked around at the trees visible in the light of Ana's glowing stick. Because the light was coming from the odd angle from Ana's glowing stick, many of the trees cast eerie shadows. Ninten shivered and forced himself to take a deep breath.

"Wait." Ana halted.

She pointed her glowing stick down at the ground, illuminating a chunk of wood in the ground. She picked up the piece of wood and examined it. After a moment, she gasped and showed the wood piece to Ninten.

Rather than part of a stick or log, the piece of wood had been carved from a block into a 3-D model of a stream leading into a waterfall that cascaded down a rocky wall into a pool below.

"Well, would you look at that," Ana said. "If there were any doubts before that you were a psychic…"

Ana paused, cocking her head. She pointed her glowing stick to the side, illuminating the gently flowing stream a few paces away. The waterfall sounds were louder than on the path.

"I guess this stream _could_ lead into a waterfall." Ana shook her head. "And I wonder who left this carving lying around."

Ninten opened his mouth to suggest a name, but no words would come out.

Because if Lucas did leave this carving here, what did it mean that he hadn't come and picked it back up?

"Oh well." Ana shrugged. "We're almost there."

After a few more steps, Ninten saw a small cliff wall not far past the line of trees. The stream widened into a waterfall basin, and water flew over the edge of the cliff and crashed down into the basin below, placing a location on the waterfall noises Ninten and Ana had heard earlier.

"This is actually starting to freak me out," Ana said. leading Ninten around the waterfall basin. "The portal was right over he-"

Ana's mouth hung open as she froze mid-word. She held her glowing stick in place, pointing it to a spot between a pair of trees next to the waterfall basin. Ninten looked over, his heart pounding in his chest.

Between the trees lay the limp body of a blond-haired boy.

Ana ran over to the body, and Ninten had to sprint to keep up. Ana skidded to a halt in front of the body before leaning down, and Ninten nearly crashed into her. The body was lying on its front, but when Ana rolled him over it was definitely Lucas' face. He looked several years older than in the V-game, but other than that his appearance looked familiar. His closed eyes made it look like he was sleeping, but who would fall asleep with their face flat on the ground?

Ana took a pulse, and her shoulders slumped a moment later.

"Dead," she said.

There it was, then. Ana had proposed the possibility earlier, and Ninten had feared that the worst had happened until Claus had given him hope. Even after knowing that Lucas had transferred a file into his psyspace after his disappearance, it shouldn't have surprised Ninten that Lucas' death would at least be a possibility.

But Ninten had been blinded by optimism. Blinded by hope. Kumatora was right. For some people, life didn't fix itself in the end. Claus was right. Some people didn't get second chances.

Even Hinawa was right. The only way to end Ninten's suffering would be to end _everything._

"Lucas…" Ninten said.

He looked at Lucas' closed eyes and peaceful expression. The image brought back memories of passing Lucas in the halls and seeing him in physics. Even as Lucas managed to take beautiful notes about rotational forces and torque, Ninten remembered seeing him draw elaborate sketches of sunflowers and sparrows in the margins. And after a while, Ninten was _staring_ at Lucas' page as Lucas managed to go back and forth between writing equations and sketching sunflowers seamlessly. And then Lucas looked up at Ninten and shared a secretive smile, his eyes twinkling with serene wisdom.

And now he would never smile at Ninten the same way again.

"Why did it take me so long to remember?" Ninten said. "Lucas, I'm sorry. I should have saved-"

A sob broke off Ninten's sentence. He buried his face in his hands until his palms became wet with tears. A hand on his shoulder caused him to flinch, and he looked up to see Ana staring into his eyes with a concerned expression.

"We lost him," Ninten said. "Everything I learned about _him._ Who he knows, who he _is._ It's all gone. And there was still so much I didn't know. There's still so much that I'll _never_ know."

"Ninten…"

"This has to be a dream. This whole day is just some sort of twisted nightmare. I don't know what I did to deserve this, but I'll wake up tomorrow and everything will be fine."

"Ninten." Ana's eyes started to water.

"It's going to be okay."

Without warning, Ana opened her arms and leaned towards Ninten. He let Ana wrap her hands around him, feeling her heartbeat as Ana's chest pressed against his. Ninten started sobbing again and hugged Ana back, clinging to her like she was his only rock in a river full of rapids.

"You're not going to wake up," Ana said, her voice steady. "No part of this is _okay._ But I'm here. I'm not going to leave."

"You knew him," Ninten said. "You should be the one who's crushed. Why is it always you comforting me, Ann?"

"Sometimes, sorrow is the most important emotion we can feel," Ana said, "And I think you have enough sorrow for both of us."

Ninten squeezed his eyes shut but continued sobbing.

"We're friends," Ana said, "And we can work through this together. This is horrible, this is traumatizing, and this is _not okay._ But we'll help each other through it all. We'll do it for Lucas. He always saw the beauty in life, and I think he wouldn't want us to lose sight of the little joys of nature."

Ninten's own words to the Masked Man at the final needle echoed in his mind.

 _"Claus. We'll find a way. We'll work through this together. We're friends, right?"_

He must have stolen those comforting phrases from Ana. He really was nothing without her.

"Ninten?" Ana said.

Her voice brought him back to the present. But moments later, he drifted back to the past. For just a moment, he was back in the emptiness after Lucas awakened the Dark Dragon with Claus and Hinawa. Claus opened his mouth and spoke.

"Little joys of nature," Ninten said, "Like the wingbeat of a butterfly or the veins of a maple leaf."

Ana laughed. "You sound like a poet, Ninten."

"No thanks to my own imagination."

Ninten finally stopped hugging Ana, and she released him from her embrace. Ninten closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the last of his despair float away as he exhaled. Ninten opened his eyes and forced a weak smile. Crying always did make him feel better, but oh boy did it also make him feel _exhausted._ And considering that his eyelids felt heavy and he had been yawning up a storm before finally breaking down into tears…

Wait.

Something still wasn't right.

Ninten's heart started to race. He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind. Sure enough, he felt the familiar warmth of Lucas' psyspace portal radiating from the area right above his body. Ninten opened his eyes and looked up at the cliff face above.

"Ann," Ninten said. "Do think Lucas fell from up there?"

Ana frowned, feeling over Lucas' chest and legs.

"I think so," she said. "He definitely has some broken ribs, and one of his legs looks shattered. But it's hard to tell when it's dark and I'm exhausted at four in the morning."

"But the portal Lucas made to his Magicant is here," Ninten said, "Not at the top of the cliff."

Ana put her hands on her hips, looking up at the top of the cliff and then back at Lucas' body.

"Huh," she said. "That's strange, but it really does look like he fell from up there. We can call the police and get Lucas' body over to a forensic pathologist for an autopsy. They'll be able to tell when and how he died better than I can. We probably don't want to spend too much time speculating without any hard facts."

"Do you think it's possible that he fell and didn't die instantly? He could have made a psyspace portal if he lived the initial fall."

"I mean," Ana paused. "I guess he _could_ have. But if he had the awareness and energy to make a psyspace portal, he could have easily just called the ambulance using the psyweb."

Ninten frowned. He hadn't thought about that.

"Maybe Lucas couldn't access the psyweb for whatever reason," Ninten said. "It's possible to get locked out of your own psyweb account, right?"

"If your mind changes its thinking pattern drastically, yeah." Ana looked back at Lucas' body. "I know that people who have panic attacks can't pass the mindscan to access their psyweb account since their minds are functioning differently. It can make getting help difficult for those people. I suppose a severe concussion might do the same thing."

"So it's possible."

"Yeah, but if you're going to tell me that Lucas, someone with so little PSI strength that he can't pass the PSI test, managed to create a psyspace portal that looks like it was made by a professional with decades of experience _,_ I'm going to call bullshit. And if you say he does all of that _while he had a concussion,_ I'm going to think you're a little crazy."

Oh. Right. Ninten took another look at Lucas' closed eyes and peaceful expression. There were still so many pieces that didn't fit together. But Ninten could feel them floating in the air, just _waiting_ for him to line them up.

"Okay, so maybe Lucas visits this place often and someone installed a portal here for him. Then he goes up to the top of the cliff, falls, gets a concussion so he can't get past his mindscans-"

"Then he wouldn't be able to pass the mindscan and get into his psyspace either," Ana said.

Okay, fair enough. Ninten rubbed his temples and focused his mind. What else could have happened?

"There… is one way to test if your wild theory about Lucas creating a new psyspace during a concussion is true. And I can't believe I'm suggesting this."

"What is it?"

"Just give me a sec."

Ana sat down next to Lucas' body and closed her eyes. A couple minutes passed as she mouthed words to herself and furrowed her brow with her eyes still closed.

"Ann?" Ninten said.

Ana started to shake.

"Ana. Speak to me." Ninten ran over and put a hand over her shoulder. "What's going on?"

"Can't…" the word came out of Ana's mouth as a whisper.

"What?"

"I can't _fucking_ believe it."

Ana's eyes jolted open, and she looked up at Ninten in disbelief.

"The mindscan," Ana said. "It's not the _fucking_ same. It's like the one we saw back in Lucas' room, but the thought pattern I needed to imitate was more random, delirious. Almost exactly the same, but ever so _slightly_ different."

"Which means?"

"That the mindscan thought that Lucas, during in his concussion, was someone else," Ana said. "So Lucas _did_ make the portal during the concussion, and locked it behind a slightly different mindscan."

"So he couldn't have accessed the psyweb after all," Ninten said.

"Not without making a new IP." Ana frowned. "Which still probably would have been easier, but maybe he didn't know how. It's technically illegal, after all."

"And so following that logic, Lucas was still able to access his regular psyspace even though the mindscan thought he was a different person?"

Ana nodded. "The psyspaces themselves are a little smarter than human-engineered mindscans. I could never build a portal to Lucas' psyspace by pretending to be him. By the same notion, Lucas' psyspace would recognize him even during a panic attack or a concussion."

If true PSI really did come from the mind, then maybe the world of PSI could recognize minds perfectly. So Lucas had almost certainly fallen, and then made a new psyspace portal during a concussion.

"And he did it all to drop off a single file." Ana looked down at Lucas' body. "He could have at least _tried_ to make a new psyweb IP and call the ambulance. What data file could possibly be more important than his own life?"

 _"Just because we die doesn't mean we have to stop existing."_ Namiko's words came to Ninten's mind, unbidden.

Maybe there _was_ something to Lucas that meant more than his life. Maybe he wanted to preserve a symbol of himself even through death.

Or…

Ninten gasped. It _couldn't_ be.

"Ninten?" Ana looked over. "Are you all right?"

"Just a V-game," Ninten said out loud. "It's not real. It was just in a V-game."

"Ninten." Ana's eyes widened. "Do you need to go back to campus now?"

"No, I'm not…" Ninten gulped. "I'm not getting flashbacks or anything."

He took a look at Lucas' still body as the waterfall crashed behind him. Every single piece of evidence about Lucas' death pointed to a single event, but it just _couldn't be true._

Because if it were…

Then Ninten had just stumbled on something larger than the Nowhere Islands V-game. Larger than Lucas' death. It would be a discovery almost as large as PSI itself.

So he _had_ to be wrong.

"I…" Ninten took a deep breath. "Can we go into Lucas' Magicant again, Ann? I want to check something."

"I just disabled the mindscan, so yeah." Ana frowned. "But are you sure that you're up for this?"

Ninten nodded. "I just need to make sure that nothing crazy is going on here."

"I mean, I'd consider that hope crushed," Ana said.

Ninten looked on numbly as Ana flashed a sad smile. She didn't _understand._ If Ninten were right, he might be opening Pandora's Box. By all accounts, he should call the police and leave the investigations to them.

But he had to _know._ The Nowhere Islands V-game still had so many unanswered questions, and one way or another Ninten would discover the truth behind a pressing mystery right now.

"Man," Ana said, her eyes widening. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Please," Ninten said, his voice shaking. "Come in with me. I don't want to go in alone."

"If you're this scared, then maybe you shouldn't-"

"I need to. _Please._ "

Ana sighed. "All right. But let me know if you feel uncomfortable or if you want to go back to your apartment. All right?"

Ninten bit his lip and nodded. He closed his eyes before he could tear up again and reached out with his mind towards the warmth of the portal in front of him. He channeled his mind into Lucas' Magicant before he had a chance to talk himself out of this crazy plan."

* * *

Back in the sunflower fields one more time. The pastel red sky with wisps of orange and purple looked normal enough that Ninten didn't have to stop and stare this time. Instead, he stared at the waterfall sprite right in front of him. Ninten walked up to the 3-D floating waterfall and stuck his hand under the running water, feeling the cool liquid run over his fingers as he created a break in the waterfall.

Ana appeared next to him moments later, looking at the waterfall sprite with a confused expression.

"I can't crack the file right now," Ana said.

"Please," Ninten said to the waterfall. "Please let me in."

"Uh… Ninten?"

Ninten turned back to Ana, unable to explain himself. How could he explain his actions when he refused to believe his own suspicions of what was inside?

"What do you think you're going to find in that file?" Ana said.

Ninten grimaced. If he said the words out loud, he would have to acknowledge them as a possibility. If they stayed inside his head until he was hopefully proven wrong, then maybe they would be less _real._

So instead, Ninten changed the subject.

"Are you sure that the file's protected by a mindscan?" Ninten said.

"What else would be guarding it?" Ana said with a frown. "I gave the security features a few probes, and they're a lot tougher than password protections."

Ninten studied Ana's sweatpants for a moment, and his stomach lurched when he saw an object bulging out from her pockets.

"Hmm?" Ana looked down at her pocket and reached inside. "What the fuck…?"

She pulled out the wooden waterfall carving that she had picked up earlier, staring at the model in disbelief.

"I'm starting to think that this _is_ all just a dream," Ana said.

"In the Nowhere Islands, I was allowed to take a specific item into someone else's psyspace with me," Ninten said.

"Wait, you went into someone's psyspace _inside_ the game?"

"Uh, yeah. It's supposed to be realistic and all that. But I've seen this happen before."

Ana frowned. "In a V-game."

She closed an eye and held up the wooden waterfall model to the larger 3-D waterfall sprite, rotating the model in all angles and eventually grunting.

"Yeah, it does look the same," she said. "I still have no fucking idea why this wooden carving is in here with me. In case you can't guess, I did _not_ tell it to come along with my clothes."

"It makes me wonder," Ninten said, "If instead of a mindscan, some files are locked and need a key."

Ana over at the waterfall sprite and back at the waterfall model. When Ninten studied the two, he saw that even the placement of rocks in the stream above and the slanted angle of the cliff face was identical between the sprite and the carving.

"You have to be _fucking_ kidding me," she said. Turning back to Ninten, "So you think that we just need to hold this carving and we'll be granted access?"

Ninten shrugged. "It's worth a shot. There's got to be a reason why the sprite is an exact replica of the model, right?"

"And do you want to be the one to go in?"

"You can do it, if you want."

"I'll do it if you're scared. But as much as I hate to admit it, you've done most of the work figuring out where Lucas went. And you seem to have some idea of what you're going to find."

Ninten gulped. It was less of an idea and more of a batshit crazy thought that crossed his mind, but he needed to see for himself that he was wrong.

"I'll… do it," Ninten said.

"Great." Ana offered the wooden model to him. "If you do go into the file and explore around, I'll log onto the psyweb and call the cops. The body's been dead for days, but I think they'll want to get a hold of the evidence as soon as they can. I probably should have called the cops before now, really, but my mind doesn't work well at four in the morning."

Ninten took the model, feeling the smooth finish over the carving. He took a deep breath and looked between the model and the waterfall sprite.

He was wrong, plain and simple. There was just no way…

"Ninten?"

"Oh." Ninten blinked, looking back at Ana. "Yeah, please do that. I want to make sure that we get some facts about what happened."

Ana sighed. "I also probably shouldn't have messed with Lucas' body, so hopefully they don't charge me with manipulating the crime scene or whatever. Yell at me in here or in real life if you need anything."

Ana sat down in the sunflower fields and closed her eyes. Her body froze in place, indicating that she had transferred her consciousness over to the psyweb.

Ninten looked back at the waterfall sprite. Holding the 3-D waterfall model in his hands, Ninten reached out and closed his eyes. He felt the smooth water running down his fingers, and he heard the trickle of the water falling into the sunflower fields below.

His heart pounding in his chest, Ninten transferred his consciousness into the waterfall sprite.

* * *

…

…

…

 _ACCESS GRANTED._

* * *

Ninten stood by the top of a waterfall, next to a river. The sun shone down above in the spotless blue sky, and Ninten heard a sparrow chirping in the background. He looked at the river, and then around at all the trees.

This was the exact same place where Claus had taken him and Hinawa to see Lucas.

And standing at the cliff's edge staring at the trees in the distance was the same blond-haired boy. A gust of wind passed by, ruffling the boy's hair and sending his shirt and shorts flapping while the boy himself remained motionless.

Ninten hold his breath. After a single, excruciating moment, the boy sighed and turned towards Ninten. And at that moment, the last of Ninten's doubts faded away. Because the deep blue eyes and soft features of the boy who was looking at him now could only belong to one person.

And that person was supposed to be _dead._

"I guess the cat's out of the bag," Lucas said, closing his eyes and chuckling. "Welcome to my _real_ Magicant, Ninten. Please, do make yourself at home."


	15. A Promise

**Hey hey. :D**

 **I am once again caught up with my editing to where I am with writing, and I have exams next week so I might be off for a while. Also, even though we're out of the Nowhere Islands V-game there's still a decent amount of content left. Hopefully it continues to hold your interest.**

 **Have a great day. :)**

* * *

No.

Lucas opened his eyes, looking down into the palms of his hands. But his eyes were focused rather than hesitant, and they looked like they were about to shoot lasers and fry Lucas' hands to a crisp.

"The first thing I want to say is that I'm sorry," Lucas told him.

No.

"It's not fair to ask this, of course, but please do try not to blame my mother too harshly," Lucas said. "When you came into my Magicant, I changed up the code of the game and hid my mother's smiles away. What you saw was a bastardization of the true self, the Mecha-Drago to the Drago inside of her."

No.

Lucas smiled, studying Ninten with his same iron eyes and measured expression.

"All the laser shots and plasma sword strikes that you took, all of the pained expressions and panicked eyes you had to see…" Lucas closed his eyes. "They all come from me. So feel more than welcome to hate me for everything I did. I _knew_ that you and Ana were trying to rescue me, and I repaid your kindness by crusting your hopes over and over again."

 _No._

"Ninten?" Lucas' eyes jolted open. "Please feel free to speak. Nobody's going to hurt you here."

Ninten tried to swallow and found the back of his throat dry. He must be dreaming, hallucinating, _anything_ other than seeing reality in Lucas' wide eyes and slight frown.

"Lucas," Ninten said, his voice trembling. "Tell me."

"Tell you… Oh." Lucas' frown deepened. "But you already know."

Ninten's heart sunk further into his stomach. He wanted to shout at Lucas that if he said the words out loud, then they would finally be _real._

"But if you want to hear it from me," Lucas said, "Then I guess it's the least I can do for all the hurt I caused you."

Lucas walked over to the edge of the cliff, standing with a small part of his front shoe off the edge. A gust of wind whipped his hair and clothes back, but Lucas himself didn't budge. Ninten took a tentative step closer, unable to take his eyes off the distance between him and the trees below.

"I failed the PSI test," Lucas said, facing away from Ninten, "So I ran away. Not permanently, just to take a little walk. I took the bus to the edge of town and walked over to Sullivan Park with my wooden waterfall carving in my pocket. I wasn't really _angry_ that I failed the diagnostic exam, but I was disappointed. Not in myself, but in the world. I really only kept myself alive to this point because I thought that Earth might need my help. But I never thought that the world wouldn't _want_ my powers. It was a new experience for me."

Lucas' voice was hardly more than a whisper, but his words managed to cut through the sounds of the wind and reach Ninten's ears with perfect clarity. When Ninten replied, he needed to raise his voice to even hear himself over the whipping of the air.

"Your… powers?"

"I walked up to the top of a waterfall, the one right next to where you found my body," Lucas said. "It's a bit off the path, but at this point I'm willing to clutch onto anything that reminds me of home. I walked up to the edge, just like what I'm doing now. I closed my eyes and spread out my arms, wondering what it would feel like to fly."

Lucas extended his arms out to the side for effect. Ninten let out a cry, absolutely convinced for just a moment that Lucas was going to jump.

"Have you ever wanted to die?" Lucas said, looking over his shoulder at Ninten. "Not just in a fit of despair. Have you ever looked down over a cliff at the world below and experienced the numb realization that it would feel _so good_ just to die right now? For me, the thought of falling was calming. Sure, my body would slam into the ground and break, but my spirit would ride the winds forever."

Ninten froze in place. Finally, someone asked. Finally, someone _knew._ But years of waiting for the question wasn't nearly enough for Ninten to prepare himself to answer.

"You don't have to answer," Lucas said, looking back out at the forest beyond the cliff. "I'm just rambling at this point. I don't think it's something you can really imagine if you haven't experienced it yourself.

Ninten walked up to the edge of the cliff next to Lucas and looked down. The trees might has well have been statues. Even the crashing water was stagnant in a way. The water landed in the same part of the waterfall basin and flowed along the same currents. The individual water molecules moved, but the shape of the waterfall and river stayed the same. It would be so easy for Ninten to join them in the stillness.

"I do understand," Ninten said. "I… think I feel the same way."

Lucas looked over at Ninten, raising an eyebrow in question.

"I was always the emotional one in elementary school," Ninten said. "I would tear up whenever I saw someone fall down on the playground, and I would freeze and cry whenever teachers raised their voice at me. And I remember, more than anything, wanting that fear and sadness to _leave._ And one day, I got exactly what I wanted. It was the worst day of my life."

Lucas smiled, putting a hand on Ninten's shoulder. Ninten smiled back, trying to shrug off his panic. Lucas had no reason to push him off the cliff now.

"What did it feel like?" Lucas said.

Ninten shrugged. "If I were on the Mothership with Hinawa again, I wouldn't have cared about the Mr. Saturn genocide. If I were back in the tunnels underneath Seoul, I would have heard Namiko out and nodded along. I would have watched with dull eyes as Kim electrocuted himself, and I would have smiled as Liu fired her final shot at me."

Lucas nodded, looking back out at the forest below the cliffs. His eyes seemed to be searching for something.

"And how long did that feeling last?" he said.

"It came and went," Ninten said. "I never really talked about it because I knew that if I faked smiles until I got better than nobody would notice. I'm already antisocial, so it was nothing new."

"And did you ever try it?"

Ninten looked over at Lucas, whose distant expression didn't change even after Ninten stared for what must have been seconds. Ninten took a step away from the cliffs and looked back at rushing river beside him.

"No. Even in my darkest moments, I knew that my past self and my future self would be screaming for me to stop if I ever took a gun to my head. And for me, there _was_ a future. Most days, I could go to sleep and wake up feeling fine the next day. I wasn't going to throw that all away."

Lucas cracked a smile as he continued to stare out into the distance.

"I guess we're more similar than I expected," Lucas said. "So I think you'll understand when I say that when I spread my arms out in front of this cliff and told myself that I wanted to fly, there was a little voice in my head holding me back. I never wanted to kill myself, Ninten. I just wanted to feel _something_ after failing the PSI test, and the vague thrill as I teetered off the edge of the cliff was enough. Because really, all emotions are similar in most ways. We're lucky to have any of them at all."

"And then what?"

Lucas turned around to face Ninten and laughed. "Oh, I would hate to cut our little heart-to-heart short, but if you insist on hearing the rest of the boring story…"

"Please. I need to hear it come from you."

Lucas sighed. "When I lifted my foot to take a step backwards, I tripped and fell forward. So for just a moment, I _did_ get my wish and soar through the air like a bird."

No more speculation, then. No more hiding behind silence. The rest of the pieces fell into place on their own.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Still want to hear the rest?"

Ninten nodded. "I know what must have happened, but I still can't bring myself to _believe_ it."

Lucas nodded without a moment's hesitation. "I fell through the air, and then landed on the ground. Luckily, I didn't land right on my head, but I still got a concussion from the impact of falling flat on my chest. As my ears were ringing and I felt around for the cracked bones in my body, I reached out for the psyweb. With my foggy mind, my own mindscan locked me out."

Ninten gulped. "And then…?"

"And then I spent what must have been an hour blacking out and recovering for brief moments while I slipped further and further away. I didn't have the voice to call out for help, and nobody would think to check for me off in the woods off the path. I think I would have died during that time if I hadn't used PSI to heal myself. My organs were failing, and some of my cells were probably running off of psychic energy instead of ATP. I knew that it couldn't last."

Lucas smiled, taking another step away from the edge of the cliff and looking at a sparrow chirping from a tree branch.

"So I made my own portal to the psyspace," Lucas said, "Locking it behind a mindscan that could only be accessed by my fuzzy mind. I knew that my psyspace would recognize me, even if my mindscans wouldn't."

"You did all of that after _failing_ a PSI test," Ninten said. "Did you…?"

"Fail on purpose? No." Lucas thrust a hand forward, and nothing happened. "I've just never been good at telekinesis. When the examiners saw that I couldn't lift a feather, they escorted me out of the room."

Ninten blinked. If it were possible for gifted psions to struggle with psychokinesis, then Lucas probably wasn't the only potent psychic to get cut from the program. He took a moment to wonder just how many people would go through their lives never realizing the raw strength within their minds just because a diagnostic test in college told them that they just weren't born to use PSI.

"But making psyspace portals has always come naturally to me," Lucas said. "I suppose that I could have made another IP address on the psyweb, but we never had a psyweb where I came from and I wasn't sure if even an ambulance would have been able to save me if I called them through the psyweb. Besides, I wasn't really thinking straight."

"So you made a psyspace portal, and deposited the waterfall file inside your Magicant." Ninten's heart pounded in his chest. "What _exactly_ was in that file?"

Lucas smiled, gesturing to the air around him. "This."

"And this is…?"

"This is my mind," Lucas said. "This is _me._ When I was dying, I transferred my consciousness over to my psyspace so that I would exist forever. Just like Namiko, and just like Liu."

There it was. A truth that Ninten's entire _reality_ shouldn't have been spoken of in the same tone that Lucas used to discuss taking a walk through the forest. If the only certainties in life were death and taxes, then cheating death had just become as easy as income tax evasion. Which shouldn't have been possible. Death was final, unknowable, sacrosanct.

But all along hiding in the human mind, there had been a way to live on forever.

"And the person I saw when Claus took me to this waterfall was you?"

"Indeed." Lucas sighed. "I apologize for pretending to be the Lucas within the game. After seeing you work with the Masked Man to save the world at the final needle, I couldn't look you in the eyes and say that you failed. I hoped that you would win, discover my body, and never figure out what I actually did. Then everyone would move on with their lives and I wouldn't have to explain the barriers I broke and the lines I crossed. But here you are."

"Here I am," Ninten said. "And now I don't know what to do with you."

"Well, I don't have the right to ask this of you, but please don't tell anyone else what happened to me. Some knowledge is best left hidden."

"And yet you can use it to save yourself."

"I'm actually thinking about leaving. Now that I'm dead, I don't really have a purpose and it wouldn't matter if my mind floated around unaware in the PSI realm like every other person who's ever died. And if erasing all evidence of my consciousness is the only way to protect my secret, I'll go quietly into the night."

Ninten looked at Lucas, searching for a glint of humor in his eyes and finding none.

"I think that we need a reason to exist," Lucas said. "And all of those reasons left me years ago. It's no big deal to me if I fade away into oblivion. Really, living alone in this forest is just a different kind of emptiness. And I think I owe it to the world to keep my knowledge of this afterlife a secret. Especially when I might not even be real."

Ninten frowned. "Not real? Isn't this your consciousness?"

Lucas shrugged. "It's all data. Not everyone agrees that _we_ go where our data goes. I do truly believe that our sense of identity is intertwined with all the information stored within us, and that transferring our data from neurons to PSI code doesn't really change anything. But most of the people in this world are spiritual in one way or another, and they likely have different definitions of identity. If this gets out, it could start a controversy like none other."

"Just like how abortion did?" Ninten said. "It's not so different in my eyes. You're manipulating life to create a better existence for people, and it might annoy some hard-line Christians who can't look past the soul."

"The process of procedural abortions was an inevitable step for humanity," Lucas said. "People have been killing human embryos for thousands of years using more dangerous methods. But nobody in the history of the Earth before me has cheated death. And it's not just a religious issue. Only those trained in PSI can transfer their consciousness to their psyspace and live on after death. And please, do remind me again who those people tend to be."

Lucas flashed a smile that didn't reach his eye, and a chill ran down Ninten's spine.

"Can't say it?" Lucas said. "Then I will. The people trained in PSI are people who are set up for success from birth, funneled into private PSI preparation High Schools with other rich kids. The common person who hasn't been taught the tricks of the trade before the diagnostic test has next to no chance of passing the PSI test."

"Ana-"

"I asked Ana outright." Lucas' eyes narrowed. "She's not rich, but both of her parents are powerful psions. They doubtless taught her how to levitate objects and mend scratches. But even she's an exception. I looked at the stats, and 95% of psions come from the top 40% income households. 30% of psions come from the top 1%. If you release knowledge of transferring a consciousness to the psyspace, people will be able to _purchase_ their immortality. Money used to allow people to buy goods. Now, it lets people buy political power. Soon, will it be able to buy life itself."

"So because some people can't exist past death, nobody should be able to?"

Lucas laughed. "I like you, Ninten, so sometimes I forget how ignorant you are. Trust me on this one. You've only been around people as lucky and privileged as yourself. Most people in the world won't ever be taught the skills they need to upload their consciousness into a psyspace. You'll just be making the rich richer while the poor start to lose hope. But that's what your great-grandfather always wanted you to do, isn't it?"

Ninten felt his chest tighten. He stared over at Lucas' sad smile and took a step back.

"George isn't just _your_ problem, Ninten. What do you think would happen if he knew about what I did?"

Ninten closed his eyes. No more running away from the truth.

"If he knew," Ninten said. "He would use it to make as much money as he could. He would jack up the price of PSI programs and create special courses that would teach the permanent transfer of consciousness into the psyspace. He would charge millions for that course alone. And then money really would be able to buy life itself."

Now that he had gotten those words off of his chest, he was able to breathe easy. Ninten opened his eyes and took a deep breath of crisp forest air.

"Right," Lucas said. "George would finally be proud of his little grandson that he recruited from an orphanage specifically to discover more secrets that would aid the company."

"How do you know so much about me?"

Lucas smiled. "But if you did, the whole world would shatter. The one thing that the rich have never been able to control is life itself. Once you put that sort of power in their hands, corporations will finally overtake governments in name rather than just spirt. They'll bend _everyone_ to their will. Because they can offer the one commodity that everyone needs. They can't refuse the offer of eternal paradise for the chosen few who follow each corporation."

"All right, I get it. I'll keep it a secret." _For now._

"That's why I wanted to crush your spirit in the Nowhere Islands V-game," Lucas said. "And honestly, I probably should have. I do trust you with all of my heart, Ninten, but I don't know the person you're going to be in five, ten years. That's why I'm trying to freak you out now. I'm sorry that your great-grandfather only sees you as an apparatus of his company, and I don't blame you for wanting to make him proud. But you _cannot_ let him know about this. Promise me, Ninten."

Ninten took a deep breath. "I promise."

"Good."

Lucas' expression relaxed, and he whistled a tune along with one of the chirping sparrows. After a moment, more birds joined in singing and Lucas laughed.

"I do hate playing the bad guy," Lucas said, "And I'm sorry that you had to see me at my worst. Like I said, feel free to hate me for everything I put you through. So long as my secret stays safe, I'll soak up all your anger like a sponge."

Ninten's heart was racing, but his instincts screamed at him to run away and forget that Lucas ever existed instead of stepping forward and shaking his fists.

 _"Because really,"_ Lucas' voice echoed in his mind, " _All emotions are similar in most ways. We're lucky to have any of them at all."_

Maybe there was a bit of wisdom in Lucas' words. So long as Ninten could feel _something,_ he could hang onto who he was. He would let the fear be his friend and force his lips closed whenever someone mentioned Lucas. He had a responsibility to make sure that the world didn't erupt into class warfare.

"And now," Lucas said, "You should probably leave. Ana's stalling for as long as she can, but the cops are wondering why you're still in the PSI realm."

Ninten shot Lucas a flat glance. He needed to make a habit of not talking to people with way more knowledge than he had. He didn't even want to guess how Lucas could tell from inside his Magicant what was happening in the outside world.

"Goodbye, then," Ninten said. "I want to say that it was good to talk to you, but…"

"It may not have been good, but it was necessary." Lucas smiled. "If someone had to stumble over all of my secrets and carry the fate of the world in their hands, I'm glad it was you. Thank you for seeing outside of your own head. I don't suppose that you could keep my fate a secret from Ana?"

"I think that she deserves to know," Ninten said. "And I would trust her with my life."

"Your life is one thing," Lucas said. "Would you trust her with the fate of the world?"

Ninten looked Lucas in the eye. "Yes. I would."

Lucas grunted and then nodded. "I respect your judgment. But please, make sure nobody knows. Could you at least convince Ana to destroy the psyspace portal I made in the forest?"

"Maybe eventually," Ninten said, "But I think we'll want to talk to you more once the whole situation calms down."

Lucas sighed. "Like I said earlier, I guess I owe you that much. I hope I won't regret letting you beat the game and find my body. Adding more variables to the equation always makes the outcome more difficult to predict."

"Always?" Ninten grinned. "Sometimes, adding more variables is all that allows me to solve a system of equations."

Lucas laughed. "Fair enough. I hope that you and Ana are those kinds of variables, then." Lucas paused. "You really should get going now. Goodbye, Ninten."

Lucas waved goodbye, and Ninten returned the gesture of a nod. He closed his eyes and prepared to exit Lucas' Magicant yet again.

Wait.

Right before he emptied his consciousness completely, Ninten opened his eyes and looked back at Lucas.

"One last question," Ninten said. "You said that everything in the Nowhere Island V-game comes from you. But the people inside of the game… are they real?"

Lucas hesitated. "They're real in my mind. You'll have to decide what that means for you."

Lucas wouldn't quite meet Ninten's gaze. Ninten stared at Lucas' unreadable expression for a moment before turning away one he realized that Lucas didn't have anything else to say.

"All right," Ninten said. "Goodbye, Lucas."

* * *

Ninten hardly remembered the rest of the night. Or, well, the rest of the morning.

A few bits and pieces stuck. A blinding flashlight and blue caps. Tree branches surrounded by darkness ruffling in the wind. Ninten's eyelids closing and refusing to open again as a voice in the back of his head screamed at him to stay awake. Ana walking him back to his apartment and waving goodbye with a sad smile as he closed the door.

Even chemistry at ten in the morning passed by like a blur. Ninten remembered that the professor called on him for a question, but minutes later he couldn't remember what the question had been or the answer he had given. He thought someone made a comment about him Ana not being able to bail him out this time when the professor singled him out, but he might have imagined it.

After the rest of his classes finished, Ninten went back to his apartment and passed out on his bed. Thankfully, his roommates didn't do anything _especially_ loud during those hours and Ninten slept until dinner time.

He checked his messages after eating dinner. Ana had sent him a psyweb message hours ago. Ninten messaged her back, and they agreed to meet in her apartment.

* * *

Ninten stood by the padlocked, iron gate, humming to himself to pass the time. Cars whizzed past him on the street, and Ninten pressed himself up to the gate when he smelled exhaust fumes. He reached into his pocket to grip his inhaler and tried to take small breaths through his nose.

Ana emerged from inside the apartment building moments later, waving hello to Ninten. Her eyes still looked bloodshot, but Ninten stopped worrying once he saw the spring that she put in each step. She walked up to the gate and opened it from the inside. Ninten walked inside and took a deep breath of air, looking back at the street and shaking his head.

"Oh," Ana said, her voice falling. "Is your asthma…?"

"I'm fine. I just hate roads."

"Because of your asthma."

Ninten shrugged. "I'll feel better once I get inside."

Ana nodded and started off towards the sliding glass door that led to the carpeted interior of the apartment complex.

"Maybe we can meet up at your place next time," Ana said. "Your apartment complex isn't locked behind a gate like a prison, right?"

"No, but the walls are so old that they look like they _could_ belong to a prison."

Ana shook her head. "I thought rich kids were supposed to get all the nice places around town. I know someone who rented a new house with two other people. They have like four extra rooms that none of them are using."

"Well, if none of them are using the rooms then there's no point to renting something that big," Ninten said. "My apartment works just fine for me."

Ana snorted. "Come _on._ You're supposed to exploit the system and end up with all the posh stuff. Go out and live a little. Buy champagne and flick money at strippers. The world is your oyster so long as people keep wanting more of your sweet, sweet dollar bills."

"I'm going to pretend that you didn't say the line about strippers." Ninten looked up at the top of the sprawling apartment complex. "But I also think that we might not want to meet up at my apartment because my roommates tend to mess it up even when I try to keep it clean."

"Eh." Ana yawned. "Given my current state, I don't know how much cleaner my apartment will be."

Ninten and Ana continued to talk as they walked into the apartment complex and up the three flights of stairs to Ana's room. Conveniently, Ana mentioned after they walked up the stairs that the elevator probably would have been faster. Ninten grunted, thinking about his next opportunity to sit down and rest his legs.

Ana unlocked the door to her apartment and thrust the door open. A red-haired girl sat on the couch, flipping through different television channels. She looked up as Ninten entered the room and grinned.

"Ooh," she said. "Does Ana finally have a _boyfriend?_ "

"Hello to you too, Pippi," Ana said. "Ninten's just going to be here for a while. We won't be in your way."

Pippi stood up and walked over, examining Ninten from head to toe. Ninten crossed his arms and looked over at Ana for support.

"Where did you pick up a cutie like him?" Pippi said. "I just want to pinch his soft cheeks."

"Right," Ana said, stretching out the word. "Ninten, let's go into my room."

Ninten nodded and followed Ana through a short hallway until she stopped in front of a white door.

"Have fun in there, you two," Pippi said, giggling. "Just be quiet if you need to play around with the bedsprings, all right?"

Ninten felt his cheeks heat up, and he could only hope that they didn't look as red as he imagined that they were. Ana rolled her eyes to Ninten and opened the door, walking inside her room.

While Ness' room was lined with baseball posters and Lucas had put up pictures of scenery or wildlife around his part of the dorm, Ana's room was lined with posters of sci-fi alien movies, shooter V-games, and death metal bands with skull logos.

"No triple fudge chocolate ice cream posters, huh?" Ninten said.

"You know," Ana said, a grin spreading onto her face. "That's a _great_ idea."

Ninten laughed, walking into Ana's room and taking a closer look at her wooden dresser and quilt with the picture of some anime character sewn in. Ana shut the door behind him, smirking as her gaze went from Ninten to her bed.

"Some of the styles don't necessarily sync with each other," Ana said, glancing up at one of her death metal posters, "But looking at the clusterfuck of stupid hobbies I have makes me happy."

She posed in front of a V-game poster, imitating the main character on the poster by turning her hands into finger guns and pointing them sideways. She made a couple of "pop" noises with her mouth and pretended to fire off the finger guns before grinning and flopping onto the bed.

"You can sit at my desk, if you want," Ana said, "Since I have a feeling that you wouldn't be comfortable sitting on the face of an anime character."

Ninten nodded, and pulled Ana's swivel chair out from her desk and turned it towards her before sitting down. He cast a glance towards the white door and then looked back at Ana.

"Sorry about Pippi," Ana said. "She's not normally creepy around guys, so I don't know what's going on. Good job just staying quiet, though. I think she was fishing for a reaction out of you, so at least you can savor in the victory of not letting her see you angry."

"She did see me squirm a bit," Ninten said. "And you're acting like me staying quiet was an active choice."

Ana laughed. "So it's just your state of being, then?"

"When I'm feeling uncomfortable or threatened, yeah."

Ana raised an eyebrow. "You're saying that she had you like a deer in the headlights."

"More or less."

"Oh." Ana sat up straight. "I'm sorry. If you actually feel that uncomfortable, we should probably meet at your place from now on."

"It's all right," Ninten said. "I'm sure that you're dying to know about what I saw inside the waterfall sprite."

Ana nodded, bouncing up and down on her bed. After her burst of excitement, she leaned in to listen.

"I think we should talk in your psyspace," Ninten said. "Some of the information that Luc-I found is sensitive by nature."

"Fine." Ana rolled her eyes and leaned back in her bed. "There's another portal by my desk, and I can unlock it for you. But I hope you know that each moment we wait makes my stomach tie itself into another knot."

Ninten sighed, rolling back over to Ana's desk. He closed his eyes and reached out for the warmth of her psyspace portal, letting his thoughts wrap around the ball of heat in front of him. After a few moments, he felt the tingling sensation of his consciousness leaving his body.

* * *

Ninten stood in a small room where a panoramic scene of a city was painted around the walls. Even on the ceiling, grey buildings pierced white clouds and blue skies. Ana appeared in the room moments later, wearing a nervous grin.

"Not as scenic as Lucas' Magicant, but it will do for now," she said. "Trust me, it looks better than all the spreadsheets I have stored in here. Now please," Ana's hands jittered, "Tell me what you saw in that waterfall sprite."

Ninten recounted his story. Since he had told Ana about the waterfall setting from when Claus had first taken him there, it didn't take Ninten long to catch her up. He ended by telling her about the promise he made to keep Lucas' existence past death a secret.

"You knew this all along, didn't you?" Ana said.

"What? Why would I have gone through Lucas' whole Nowhere Islands V-game if I had known?"

"Oh no." Ana's eyes widened. "Not _all_ along. But when you started freaking out after seeing his body. I just thought that you were having a tough time dealing with his death. But you knew what had happened to him."

He had known, and he hadn't told Ana. Ninten winced.

"I'm sorry," Ninten said. "I didn't want it to be true."

Ana frowned. "No need to apologize. I can't imagine what kind of weight this must put on your shoulders."

"Mine and not yours?"

"I'm not going to be a top executive in the world's largest PSI company," Ana said. "I won't have to make the choice about whether or not to leak Lucas' secret to the world."

Oh, right. Thanks for the reminder.

"I promised Lucas I wouldn't tell anyone other than you," Ninten said, "A promise is a promise."

"Someone who's not willing to break a promise in order to help the world," Ana said, "Is one twisted motherfucker. Situations change. Maybe humanity will need the knowledge of how to preserve life past death. Maybe you'll just make it worse." Ana poked Ninten in the chest. "You need to be the judge. Not Lucas."

"That sort of thinking is why he tried to make me fail the Nowhere Islands V-game," Ninten said, "And it's why he almost didn't tell me about his secret."

"That doesn't make him _right._ " Ana frowned. "Look, I get where he's coming from. Racial and economic tensions from centuries ago are still playing out today. The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. Some people really don't have a way to escape the system. It's horribly tragic. But leaking this secret out to the world doesn't _hurt_ them."

"I think Lucas' point is that when the rich get more toys, the poor always suffer."

"So make sure that the middle class knows has the tools to transfer their consciousness to their psyspace along with the rich," Ana said. "People feared that the tractor would put farmers out of business, but it ended up helping to feed the world. People feared that the loom and the assembly line would lead to mass unemployment of craftsmen, but it ended up making clothes and cars affordable for almost everyone. And recently, people feared that mechanization would put the people who only have their jobs because of the earlier assembly line development out of work. And guess what? Unemployment rates stayed the same, and prices went down."

"Do you think lowering prices by a bit helped the people who really needed it?" Ninten said.

"Yeah, eventually. Now almost everyone has proper clothes and can afford cheap little plastic toys for their kids, no matter their income bracket. The lives of the poor have always improved by inches at a time, but I think we're all better off now than we were a couple hundred years ago. It's normal to fear the unknown, but progress is what got us to this standard of living in the first place."

"That sounds a little bit like trickle-down economics."

"Look me in the eyes and say if you were an average person, you'd rather live with the technology of the 1800s than the technology of today. Say that you'd give up your vacuum and dishwasher, your TV and psyweb."

Ninten looked up at Ana and hesitated.

"That's what I thought," Ana said. "There are also examples of anti-technology people holding back the poor as well. Anti-GMO protestors keep putting pressure on companies to shut down projects trying to make rice more nutritious. They want to afflict _millions of kids_ in Asia with malnutrition because their privileged asses aren't fucking comfortable with the idea of changing a cell's DNA."

"Monsanto-"

"You can _control_ this, Ninten. Yeah, Monsanto is full of shit, but you can make sure that your PSI company doesn't end up like Monsanto. Just wait for George to die and establish yourself within the company. And then you can make sure that you provide the infrastructure to support the economic demand for people wanting to transfer their consciousnesses so that the rich don't monopolize the procedure."

"Ana. I made a promise to Lucas. He _trusts_ me."

"If I could betray one person's trust to make millions of people happy, I would." Ana looked into Ninten's eye. "No matter who it was."

"But what if Lucas is right?" Ninten took a step back. "What if I'll just be bringing more pain and suffering to the world?"

Ana shrugged. "Maybe it is the wrong choice. But I want you to make that decision, not Lucas."

"How can I possibly make that sort of choice?" Ninten said. "I have no idea what will happen."

"You can because you _need_ to," Ana said. "Think about it, Ninten. You're like Batman. Sure, you don't have any superpowers, and you weren't chosen by some superior force. But once you become a full-fledged psion, you'll have the monetary resources and political power to change the world."

"I don't know how much political power Batman really had," Ninten said.

"Okay." Ana rolled her eyes. "It's not a perfect analogy. But I think you have the heart to make the world a better place, and soon you'll have the ability to turn your dreams into reality. I'll stand by your side no matter what, of course, but I think that you'll be missing out on a big opportunity if you keep Lucas' secret for the rest of your life. Besides, if Lucas discovered how to exist in the psyspace forever, how long do you think it will take someone else? I know that you don't want to capitalize off of people's hopes for an afterlife, but someone else who stumbles on the knowledge might."

All good points. Ninten rubbed his temples. Whenever he followed along with Ana's logic for more than a second, his mind went back to Lucas' eyes wide with dull fear. Ninten had made a _promise._

"Maybe we could talk about this later, one our lives calm down a bit," Ana said, noticing Ninten's unresponsiveness. "I'm thrilled to know that Lucas still exists, at least in a way. Do you still have the waterfall carving with you?"

"Oh." Ninten stuck his hands in his pockets. "Not with me, I guess. When I find it, do you want to go see Lucas yourself?"

"Yes please." Ana's face lit up. "I should at least let him know that I'm thinking about him."

"Should we go look for it now? I don't really have anything better to do."

Ana nodded vigorously. "That sounds _awesome._ "

"Let's head back to my apartment, then. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you."

"It's all right. Given the circumstances, I'm just happy you were able to meet me today."

Ninten smiled. "Thanks for everything you've done for me, Ann. I don't know how much you remember about what you told me late at night in that cave I was trapped in, but I'm glad that you want our friendship to last forever. I can't think of anyone I'd rather have supporting me through times like this."

Ana's cheeks reddened. This had to be the first time that Ninten had ever seen her blush. She put her hands over her cheeks and laughed.

"Warm," she said, feeling over her cheeks. "That's how you know you _really_ have me embarrassed. Thanks, Ninten. I'm lucky to have you as a friend as well. When all this craziness calms down, I'll be looking forward to our ice cream outing."

Ana closed her eyes to exit her psyspace, but they flashed open at the last moment.

"Wait," Ana said. "I just thought of something."

"I'm glad those moments are happening with increased frequency."

"Rude." Ana stuck out her tongue at Ninten. "But seriously. If Lucas took the Nowhere Islands V-game from his own mind, why was Claus able to take you over to Lucas and the waterfall? I mean, I know that almost all bets are off where that Nowhere Islands V-game is concerned, but it should still stay _within the game_ and not bleed into Lucas' reality _._ "

"Honestly?" Ninten grimaced. "I still need some time to process everything that's happened. After we find that wooden waterfall carving, I think I'll give my mom a psyweb call. Maybe she can help me work through some of my feelings."

"Oh, that's a good idea. Maybe I should call your mom as well." Ana laughed. "I don't think my mom would even believe me if I told her what happened. And I would probably be more concerned if she _did_ believe me."

"Well, good thing you're so independent."

Ana shrugged. "I had to be if I wanted to survive with her. Now, are you ready to scrounge your apartment for a wooden waterfall model?"

Ninten grinned. Forget about keeping Lucas' secret safe. Forget about leaking Lucas' secret to the world. Forget about income inequalities and technological explosions. Ninten had to make it through today if he wanted to save the world tomorrow.

Because right here, right now, Ninten could look at Ana's eager grin and at least _pretend_ that the world was okay.

"Sounds like an evening," Ninten said.


	16. George

**Hello, everyone. :)**

 **Important note:** **This chapter contains references to sexual assault.** **While there is no particular imagery associated with assault in the chapter and nobody makes any thought or attempt to sexually assault someone, there's no shame in turning back if the topic itself is painful. I personally think that Isaac pointing his gun at Claus at the Drago plateau was a bit more disturbing, but I know that sexual violence has a long and painful history. Oh, and there may or may not be death threats involved in this chapter as well.**

 **And uh... the whole chapter isn't quite that dark. :( I hope you guys like it.**

* * *

After making an escape when Pippi wasn't looking, Ninten had to cross campus to get from Ana's apartment to his own. They encountered a few passerbys as the orange sun blazed in the west. As they were passing by the moldy humanities buildings on the far side of campus, Ninten spotted a boy wearing a baseball cap walking in the opposite direction on the concrete sidewalk.

Ninten squinted. Yeah, definitely Ness.

Moments later, Ana shouted and waved at Ness. Ness looked up and smiled at Ana before looking down at his feet. He continued walking forward, and he eventually halted in front of Ninten and Ana.

"Hey hey," Ana said, grinning. "Look who it is."

Ness turned away. "Hello."

"Aw, come on. I know that you're embarrassed to be seen in public with someone as uncool as Ninten, but we all have to get used to that feeling sooner or later."

" _Ann._ " Ninten nudged Ana with his elbow.

"Hey, it's true and you know it. We're both _way_ out of your league."

"Can't you give him a break after what happened last night?"

"After what happen-Oh." Ana's eyes widened. " _Oh._ I'm so sorry. I can't believe I forgot-"

"Must not have a good memory, then," Ness said, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Or maybe my dad doesn't matter that much to you. I guess that's all right."

"Ness…" Ana bit her lip. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"I apologize as well, for both of us," Ninten said. "I don't want it to feel like I'm trying to defend Ana, but I think we're both a little out of it after what happened to Lucas. It's horrible to forget the news you told us just last night, and I'm sorry. I think we'll be more on top of our game once everything settles down."

Ness looked over at Ninten. "After _what_ happened to Lucas?"

Ninten exchanged a glance with Ana.

"What happened?" Ness repeated.

"We found him dead in a forest," Ninten said, "Just by chance."

Ness flinched. "You're joking."

"Check your U-psyweb inbox," Ana said. "Dean George sent out a message this morning."

Ninten frowned. The amount of posturing and defensive language that the message likely contained if it had indeed been written by George would almost certainly make the situation worse. In fact, Ninten was surprised that nobody had mentioned anything about Lucas' death today. Maybe someone _had_ mentioned something and Ninten had been too tired to remember.

"You're actually _serious._ " Ness' face blanched.

"Like I said, check the-"

"No, I believe you." Ness shook his head. " _Wow._ "

"I'm sorry if I made everything worse," Ninten said. "I wish I could bring you good news. Is there anything you need? Should we leave you alone?"

Ness paused, and then slowly shook his head. He looked over at Ninten and managed a weak smile.

"No on both counts," he said. "It's actually nice to have it out with you two, since I haven't told most of the people I know. And I'm glad you told me about Lucas. I wasn't ready to accept any excuses about how Ana forgot my dad's cancer-"

"I'm _so_ sorry," Ana said, her eyes widening.

"-But finding Lucas' corpse qualifies as one for me. Now I'm just feeling bad about how you elbowed her, Ninten."

"Oh, don't you _dare_ worry about me," Ana said. "Ninten didn't elbow me. He just… gave me a love tap."

Ness' eyes widened. " _Love_ tap? Are you two…?"

Ninten sighed. "No. We're not in a relationship. This is just like that time yesterday when she tried to 'ship' us."

"The point is that I am fine," Ana said, "And what I did to you was not."

"It's all right, Ana." Ness shrugged. "Shit happens."

Ana gulped and nodded. After a moment, her shoulders tensed.

"Wait," she said. "Why are you back so soon?

"Ann…" Ninten sighed.

Ness looked over at Ninten, his gaze tightening. Ness shook his head and looked back over at Ana, clenching his fists.

"My dad… told me to leave," Ness said. "He said that school was important, and that I should make the family proud by working hard over here."

"Oh." Ana's expression fell. "Well, I guess it's at least good that he values your education, right?"

If Ninten had known that Ana would say something like that, he would have slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Ann, seriously," Ninten said. "Ness' dad hardly saw him in life, and now when he's dying he _still_ sends his son away. How is that to be a good thing?"

The sidewalk fell silent under the fading light of the sun. Ninten looked over and couldn't quite meet Ness' gaze. What had he done?

"Ness," Ninten said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to sound like that. Ah, I'm so out of this…" Ninten shook his head. "No excuses. I'm really sorry."

Ness looked away.

"Ness?" Ana said.

"Why are you apologizing?" Ness said. "Everything you said is true."

"I learned recently," Ninten said, "That there can be a difference between knowing something's true and having someone tell you that something's true. I don't want to force any of this pain on you, Ness."

"I…" Ness inhaled sharply. "I guess that's a good point."

Ness turned back around to face Ninten, and his cheeks were wet with tear stains. Ness sniffled and tried to wipe the moisture away.

"He never…" Ness' voice quivered. "My dad never wanted to _know_ me, and he would never let me know him. Even when he's dying, I'm not important enough to talk with."

The street fell quiet a second time, Ness' muffled sobs the only sound cutting through the silence. Ninten and Ana exchanged a glance. What could they say? That his father didn't mean it like that? Neither of them knew Ness' father well enough to judge.

"Hey," Ana said. "Do you… want some time to yourself?"

Ness shook his head. "Tell me about Lucas. How did he die?"

"Are you sure that you want to hear-"

"Please." Ness' eyes widened and his body trembled.

"After he failed the PSI test, he decided to take a hike," Ana said, "Maybe to clear his thoughts. He must have accidentally tripped over a cliff and died."

Ana said the words quickly. Perhaps she thought that the truth would sting less if she got it off of her chest in the span of a couple of seconds. Or perhaps it was the only way for her to hide the unspoken truths hidden within her words.

"Or he could have hurled himself off," Ness said.

"He didn't," Ana said

"How do you know?"

"He _didn't._ " Ana took a deep breath. "Please, just trust me."

Ness met Ana's gaze and hesitated.

"I promise that Lucas didn't kill himself on purpose," Ana said. "I just can't say how."

Ness frowned. "So you said you found Lucas' body by chance, right? You just… stumbled on it?"

"Yeah," Ninten said. "Why?"

"In the middle of the forest?"

Ninten nodded.

"After dark when I left?"

"We found him today while we were out hiking," Ana said.

"On a school day?"

"We did it after our classes."

"Ana, please don't lie to me."

"I'm not-"

"You just said that George sent out the message about his death this morning, and I _know_ you have at least one afternoon class today."

Ana's eyes widened. She looked over to Ninten for help. Ninten shrugged, and Ana rolled her eyes at him.

"You _knew_ he was going to be there," Ness said.

"We, uh…" Ana grimaced.

"We did," Ninten said.

"What did you find in his psyspace? Did you ever figure out that V-game?"

"We can't tell you," Ninten said. "I'm sorry."

"Did you tell the _cops_ about the Nowhere Islands V-game and the other files you found in his psyspace?"

Ninten looked over at Ana, who shrugged at him with a smirk on her face.

"We didn't," Ninten said.

"And do you think they're going to start asking?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"And if they do, what are you going to tell them? Are you going to keep the truth from them as well?"

"I might," Ninten said. "It means that much to me."

"I'm glad that your personal values involve hiding information about a potential suicide from the authorities," Ness said, turning away.

"We dug into Lucas' secrets and found every one," Ninten said. "We know exactly who he was, what he did, and how he died. And from that knowledge, I don't think he would want us sharing that information with anyone."

"Then he wouldn't have wanted you to know in the first place."

"He wouldn't have," Ninten said, "But it's too late to change that now."

Ness sighed, his shoulders relaxing. "Fair enough. Maybe we should talk when I'm in a better mood. I might call you over if I need to talk, since my dorm room's going to be pretty empty."

"Ness," Ana cut in. "I'm sorry again for everything I said. And I don't know if you want to be alone for a while, but Ninten and I were thinking about grabbing ice cream sometime soon after all the dreary stuff that's happened. There's no pressure, of course, but you're welcome to join. And I'll pay."

Ness looked back over his shoulder. "I don't know. It might feel weird to have a girl pay for me."

"If you don't want to come, then we won't force you," Ninten said, "But Ana's paying for me as well, so we'll at least be in the same boat."

Ana grunted, and her eyes told Ninten that she wanted to say something along the lines of, _"Yeah, the same boat of getting free ice cream. Boo hoo."_

This time, though, the words didn't make it past her lips.

"I…" Ness turned back away. "I think I _would_ like that, if Ana honestly doesn't mind paying." He started to walk away. "I don't think I've had ice cream in months. Thanks."

"See you there," Ana said, waving goodbye.

After a few moments of silence, Ness took off walking. He didn't turn back as Ninten watched disappear behind a building.

"Well," Ana said, turning back to Ninten. "I fucked that up."

"I think Ness understands," Ninten said. "We just need to give him a little space for now."

"Would you consider telling him about…?"

Ninten shook his head. "I made a promise."

"But look at how _sad_ he was."

"I think he's stronger than he looks. Let's just try to keep tabs on how he does in the upcoming days."

"All right."

Ana continued walking off towards Ninten's apartment, and Ninten followed alongside. During the walk, she continued to shake her head.

" _Fuck_ ," Ana said. "Why did I have to be so stupid?"

"There will be time to make it up," Ninten said. "For now, let's focus on getting you to see Lucas. Besides, I don't think that Ness is the type to hold grudges."

Ana grunted, but she held her head slightly higher for the rest of the walk. When Ninten eventually spotted his apartment complex, Ana looked over at him and narrowed her eyes.

"Ninten," she said. "You know how Ness mentioned feeling bad that you elbowed me?"

"Yeah?"

"Please." Ana's eyes flashed with anger. "The next time I say something stupid, elbow me a _lot_ harder."

* * *

It didn't take Ninten and Ana long to find the wooden waterfall carving in Ninten's apartment. And thankfully, Ninten's roommates treated Ana like a regular person. Ana even demonstrated her telekinetic ability to slice fruit without physically touching the knife, which garnered a round of applause. She left with the waterfall carving saying that they should definitely meet up at Ninten's apartment from then on.

Afterwards, Ninten locked himself in his room and entered the psyweb. He stood in the same café-style room that he had when asking Ana for physics help yesterday. The same glass table stood in front of him, And Ninten sat down and placed his palms on the tabletop.

After spending so much time in the Nowhere Islands V-game, Ninten expected to feel the smooth touch of glass after his palms. The jarring lack of any tactile sensations removed some of the psyweb's immediacy. He wasn't really _here._ This body and all of the other bodies at the different tables were empty projections, nothing at all like the diverse yet fluid environments of the Nowhere Islands.

Ninten shook his head and looked down at the table. The people in the psyspace at least _represented_ real-life humans, unlike Claus and Hinawa within the Nowhere Islands. So why did this café seem so lifeless? He swiped his hands over the glass table and the list of his contacts came up. He cycled through the names until he saw the contact with the avatar of a smiling corgi, Carol Kim.

Ninten tapped the avatar and the corgi picture enlarged. He closed his eyes and pressed his palms into the table.

 _"Can we talk?"_ he sent telepathically. _"It's urgent."_

After a few moments, Ninten heard a _ding_ and looked down at the table.

 _"Sure."_

A woman appeared in the air in front of him, wearing a silk scarf and leather boots. She cocked her head and smiled as she sat down across the table from Ninten.

"Hi, mom," he said.

"Hi, sweetie." She looked around at the orange sky. "Ugh, who chose this background?"

"Ann claims that adding anything else in the horizon will increase upkeep costs for the domain," Ninten said. "I don't really know why."

"Well, next time I'll call you over to our psyweb plaza like normal," Carol said. "But you said that something's urgent?"

Ninten blushed. "Well, I guess it's not urgent anymore. But I thought I should tell you about it, even though I don't know if you'll believe me."

"I do trust you," Ninten's mother said, smiling. "And I won't judge if it has anything to do with you or your friends."

"No, it's not like we got into trouble or anything. I just…" Ninten sighed. "I'll tell you the full story later, but for now I'll give you the quick run-down."

Ninten explained what had happened the day before, explaining first his conersation with George. His mother applauded him out loud for standing up to George and refusing to accept the presence of constant security guards. He moved onto how Mary requested him to keep an eye out for Lucas, and Carol nodded along.

When he got to the part where he and Ana went to Lucas' dorm room, Ninten left out the part about Lucas' Magicant and the Nowhere Islands V-game. Instead, he said that the posters in Lucas' room made Ana think that he had taken a hike somewhere, and that after asking around they had found someone who saw someone who looked like Lucas heading to Sullivan Park days earlier.

And as Ninten looked around at nearby conversations at other glass tables, he decided to omit the part about discovering Lucas' consciousness in his psyspace post-death. To distract himself, He focused on describing his own shock at seeing Lucas' body and how Ana comforted him. He nearly cried a second time. Carol nodded along and flashed a sad smile.

"I'm glad Ana was there to help," she said. "And I'm sorry you had to see something so disturbing."

"It's all right," Ninten said, looking down at his feet. "I just always thought of death and tragedy as things that happened to other people. I never guessed that death would strike so close and feel so real."

"Yeah, I don't think I would have been prepared to witness what you saw, either," Carol said. "If you ever need help, I'm here to talk. I don't want you to feel like you have to take on the world alone."

Ninten managed a weak smile and looked up into his mother's eyes. "Thanks."

"Of course, sweetie. And I'm sure that Mary is thankful for what you did as well."

Ninten blinked, and then laughed. "I never told her about what happened. Maybe I should head over to George's office after I finish talking with you."

"Oh, sorry." Carol frowned. "I just assumed that she would have known, even if you hadn't told her. Didn't you say that George issued a campus-wide statement?"

"Yeah, but I don't know if Mary knows about what Ana and I did."

And with the weight of the world pressing down heavier and heavier on Ninten's shoulders, he should probably talk to someone who had been thrust into the same position of power. He took a moment to contemplate what questions he would ask Mary about technology and responsibility without giving away Lucas' secret before shaking his head and turning back to his mother.

"I don't think she responds to her messages, either," Ninten said, "And George doesn't either. Have you been able to get through to them in the past?"

"I know, ironic for the CEO of a PSI company," Carol said, rolling her eyes. "I _have_ been able to message them in the past, but they responded far more consistently when you were little. I don't think that they want to admit it, but I'm guessing that they're having trouble keeping up with their messages in their old age."

Ninten frowned, remembering how George had looked at him with the stern, _why can't you just obey like a good little boy_ expression when Ninten refused to allow guards to follow him around. He remembered as Mary tossed her hat off into the ocean and looked out at the horizon with a wistful gaze.

"If they're starting to get senile, they're doing one _hell_ of a job of hiding it," Ninten said. "But I guess it doesn't matter why they don't respond to their messages. I think I'm going to head over to George's office before the doors close."

Carol frowned. "Are you sure that you're okay talking to him? I can try to get through to Mary and tell her about the news if confronting George makes you anxious."

Ninten sighed. "I can do it, mom. But thanks for offering. I might take your offer if I can't get past George to talk with Mary."

"All right." Carol smiled. "Are you going to head out now?"

"Yeah." Ninten stood up and pushed his chair in. "Thanks for talking with me."

"Of course."

Nitnen closed his eyes and prepared to bring himself back to the real world. Right as he felt the tingling sensation of leaving the psyspace, he opened his eyes and looked back over at Carol.

"Mom," he said. "When's the last time you've seen George and Mary in person?"

"I think you were four or five and we visited them," Carol said. "We haven't gone since. That's part of why I think they're starting to get sick. And you know how George would never want to admit that anything's wrong with him."

Yeah, sick. It was definitely possible, and it was the _reasonable_ possibility.

"Have you ever offered to come and visit them after that time?" Ninten said.

"Oh, all the time. I stopped in the last few years after they kept saying no and George kept pushing you to practice PSI some more or whatever. It's probably for the best. You seem to get plenty of them without seeing them at all in person."

"Do you know anyone else who's seen them in person recently?" Ninten said.

Carol frowned, knotting her brow. "No, I don't think so. Maybe you've figured this out, but George became the dean of the university because he stopped showing up at the company. And after the switch, I think that he and Mary stopped taking personal visitors. Hopefully your dad and I will make better social connections and keep ourselves open to the world."

"All right." Ninten gulped. "Thanks for answering my questions."

"Ninten?" Carol cocked her head and frowned. "Is everything all right?"

"It's nothing." Ninten took a deep breath. "I hope."

People did get sick. It was normal for old people to cloister themselves away from the world. Maybe Mary and George just didn't want to show their true bodies to the world. There were hundreds, probably thousands of logical explanations as to why George and Mary didn't respond to messages and hadn't seen anyone in years.

"When George and Mary stopped responding to your messages and didn't want to meet in person," Ninten said, "Did that process happen gradually?"

"It felt sudden to me," Carol said, "But maybe I just wasn't picking up on the right cues beforehand. Why, do you think something specific happened to them during that time?"

"No, I don't think so," Ninten said, "But I want to rule that possibility out."

"Well, it's always possible that their lives went downhill and they were forced to stop responding to messages and allowing visitors," Carol said, "But they seemed normal enough when I talked to them in their psyspace. I wouldn't worry about it too much."

Ninten released a sigh and nodded. No jumping to conclusions or conspiracy theories. He had known George and Mary for his whole life, and he knew basically what to expect from them now.

"Thanks," Ninten said. "It was nice talking to you, but I do think I should go now."

"Goodbye." Carol stood up and waved. "I love you, and I'll always be proud of you. I don't think I say that often enough."

"Yeah, mom. Love you too."

Ninten offered one last smile before closing his eyes and disconnecting his consciousness from the psyweb.

* * *

The men in suits kept their stiff posture as they led Ninten to George's office. Apparently, they had been instructed to let Ninten visit George's psyspace whenever he wanted, and Ninten congratulated them for remembering what must have been a request from over a year ago. If they found his antics amusing, they didn't show it in their expressions or words as they opened the door to George's office and gestured for Ninten to enter.

Ninten walked inside and heard the door click shut behind him. He looked over at the wooden turtle ship model in the middle of the room and smiled. He picked up the model and felt around for the ship's balance before setting it back down on the desk and sitting down. He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind towards the ball of warmth floating above the desk. Ninten connected himself with the warmth and channeled his consciousness into the psyspace portal.

As before, the first sensation he noticed in the psyspace was the smell of salt mixed with wet, rotting wood. Then he noticed the feel of the breeze, followed by the sight of the waves crashing below the wooden deck. He turned around to look at the tables and chairs whose wooden frames had long been curled and morphed by the moisture. An oaken door at the inland edge of the deck led to the inside of what looked like a wooden shack, and Ninten took a step towards the building.

His great-grandfather George materialized a moment later, standing with his arms crossed. A drizzle started to darken the color of his suit as he stared at Ninten without speaking a word.

"Hello," Ninten finally said.

"Did you come to tell me that you've come to your senses and would like to reconsider my offer?"

"About the _security guards?"_ Ninten snorted. "I want to talk with Mary."

"Why?" George frowned. "I'm here."

"And your name isn't Mary, the last time I checked."

George's shoulders tensed. "I always told your parents that they were raising you to be disrespectful. They would compare you to your truly disgusting peers, but being better than the masses is not good enough for someone as important as you, Ninten. You would do well to watch your tone around me."

George flashed a bloodless smile, and Ninten's heart pounded in his chest.

"And do remember," George said, "That you owe your entire future to me. Do you think you would be here if I had not encouraged your parents to adopt you? Do you think that without the environment you had been given, you would have even made it to a lesser school?"

"No," Ninten answered truthfully.

"Then maybe you can show a little more respect."

"I've been making an attempt to show respect," Ninten said, looking away, "To the people who actually _created_ that positive childhood environment that you mentioned. And here's a hint. You're not one of them."

George grunted, and when Ninten looked back his fingers trembled with anger. Yet his eyes remained as cold and passionless as ever, and he made no attempt to advance towards Ninten.

"I anticipated that I would have an issue with rebellious adolescents in the family," George said, "But I'm disappointed that it's coming from you."

"Please. I just want to see Mary."

George paused. "She's not here. If there's something you can tell her, you can say it to me."

"And you'll make sure she hears it?"

George shrugged. "I might."

Ninten sighed, but maybe he could use the rough edges around George's personality to his advantage.

"Fine. Mary asked me to keep an eye out for Lucas, and I just wanted to tell her that Ana and I found his body."

"Ana." George frowned. "Is that the White girl you always talk about? She's a bad influence on you."

Ninten blinked.

"I've looked through her psyweb posts," George said. "She talked about going to a party and getting drunk. I don't want her dragging you out to anything that would hinder your studies."

"She went to a party _once,_ " Ninten said.

"And did she invite you along?"

"She did. I said no."

George shook his head. "We can't afford to have you affiliating with people who-"

"Without Ana, we wouldn't have found Lucas' body. We think he fell off a cliff. Ana didn't notice any fatal injuries, so he might have died a slower death."

"Hmm." George's eyes narrowed. "No fatal injuries?"

"Did the police perform an autopsy?"

"They did."

"And what did it say?"

George took a deep breath.

"Grandfather, I think I deserve to know. Lucas was our friend."

"He's been dead for over a day, but the cause of death is unknown. They found evidence of physical trauma to many organs, but none should have been lethal. Perhaps he simply lost the will to live."

Ninten frowned. "You think people just die because they stop caring?"

"It's possible."

Strike one. Since when had George ever given a shit about the power of _caring_ before?

"I also found some interesting data scattered around his psyspace," Ninten said.

George hesitated. "You hacked into his personal files?"

"Yeah. Does that bother you?"

"No." George smiled. "I'm glad that you used the different tools available to you in order to figure out where Lucas went. Mary would be proud."

Strike two.

"How do you know that we _figured out_ where Lucas went?" Ninten said. "Ana and I told everyone that we found his body randomly."

George smoothed out his suit. "It just didn't make sense that you would _stumble_ on the exact corpse you were looking for."

"Then how do you think we found him?"

"How _did_ you find him?"

Ninten smiled. "The idea of Lucas dying without a reason is perplexing, isn't it? Do you have any ideas for how he died? It doesn't have to be an articulated prediction. I'm just looking for inklings that might have popped into your mind."

The color drained from George's face. "I told you, the police didn't find any leads."

"Also, my mom said that you haven't accepted visitors in the past few years, and you never respond to our messages through the psyweb. She thinks that you might be sick."

"Uh…" George gulped. "Yeah, you got me. Mary and I aren't in the best of health, and we've been dealing with this disease for the past few years."

Strike three.

"No," Ninten said, "You haven't."

George frowned, glaring at Ninten. "I'll give you ten seconds to explain yourself before I tell your parents about what you just said."

"I've known you my entire life, grandfather. Your pride would never let you admit to being sick. Besides, if you're active in your psyspace then you could just as easily log onto the psyweb and answer our messages."

George sneered. "I normally wouldn't admit that I were sick. Government hawks will swoop in the second they see anything suspicious and try to federalize our business. But I thought that you deserved to know, Ninten. I see how my kindness is repaid."

"What are you hiding, grandfather?"

George opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Do you want to know what I think?" Ninten said.

George closed his mouth and glared at Ninten.

"You and Mary seem like your mental health is perfect," Ninten said, "But you never show up in person or on the psyweb. I think that you're trapped inside of your own psyspace."

George slouched. "You're right. We accidentally got trapped inside of here and we're trying to get out. We had one of our employees use a similar program to try and isolate the Nowhere Islands V-game inside of Lucas' psyspace and relay its information back to us, but someone managed to break the program."

"Wait, that was _you?_ " Ninten scowled. "Did you know that you trapped me inside of that game with no way to get out?"

"Uh…"

"Stupid question. Of course you did. And did you manage to get what was happening in the game relayed back to you?"

George's eyes narrowed.

"I'll take that as a yes as well. I'm not going to ask how you managed to get access to Lucas' Magicant in the first place, much less steal his data and bring it back to here. It's not important."

"You and Ana were the ones to hack into his psyspace to begin with."

"Like I said, not important. You probably saw me in that future-Earth scene where Namiko and Kim caused an apocalypse."

George sneered. "What gives you the right to interrogate me? I can't believe that I'm hearing this from my own great-grandson."

"You saw Namiko kill herself by transporting her consciousness over to her psyspace."

George frowned.

"And you were scared," Ninten said, "Because you knew what Namiko was going to do before she actually performed the procedure. You were terrified that someone else knew, even in a V-game. And now you're scared that I know."

"Why would I be scared?" George flashed a nervous smile. "It's just a V-game."

"Because you're just like Namiko."

"You're comparing me to a terrorist? This is your last chance, Ninten. You have five seconds to take that statement back."

"You're dead, aren't you?"

George froze in place.

"Mary's dead too. You've both been dead for years. And because of the Nowhere Islands V-game, I know why."

George opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"You and Mary both transferred yourselves over to this psyspace, didn't you? Your body is dead, and now you're just code in this psyspace."

George took a step back.

"Tell me I'm wrong, grandfather."

George's fingers started trembling.

"That's what I thought," Ninten said. "How long ago did you transfer your consciousness over to the psyspace completely? Five years? Ten? Longer?"

George clenched his hands into fists. "I don't have to tell you that. I don't have to tell you _anything._ Everything that you have comes from me, Ninten, and you _will_ obey."

"Lucas didn't want me to tell you that the same thing happened to him. He was afraid that you would use it to make millions and widen the gap between the rich and the poor. But of course you don't care if you're already dead yourself."

"Ninten." George's eyes blazed with anger. "You will never speak of this to anyone. That is an order."

Ninten forced a smile, reminding himself that George didn't have the power to control him any longer.

"I think I'm going to tell Ana and Lucas."

"If you do, I'll expel you from the school."

Ninten paused.

"Don't think I won't," George said. "I gave you everything, Ninten, and I can take it all away."

"And the formal reason you'll expel me?" Ninten said.

George shrugged. "Trumped up cheating charges. We'll give you a trial within the university. It will be a trial that _I_ control."

"Even while dead?"

"Say that I'm dead one more time to _anyone_ and I'll expel you."

"I'll find some way to make it work." Ninten turned away. "It probably isn't healthy for me to be at the same school as you, anyway."

"You little son of a-"

"Careful what you call your own granddaughter. She didn't do anything wrong."

"I'll go further to ruin you," George said. "I control the police force on campus, and I donated large sums of campaign money to all the criminal judges in the area. I'll get the police to arrest you for rape and get the judge to rule in my favor."

Ninten sighed, looking out at the crashing waves on the shoreline. Back and forth, back and forth. If only the rest of the world could be so simple. He clenched his fists and turned back towards George.

"Now it's my turn," Ninten whispered, "To give you ten seconds to take back what you said."

"I always say what I mean, Ninten. Speak one word of this to _anyone,_ and I'll get you a life sentence in prison."

"On rape charges?"

"On rape charges."

Ninten sighed. In a way, he was glad that George hadn't given him an excuse to put up with just one more conversation. He looked up into George's eyes and forced a smile.

"You know," Ninten said, "It's because of people like you that we still tolerate rape culture in America. I'm not going to be _fucking_ intimidated by a pathetic little man with a big ego. You know, rape survivors all over America are keeping silent because people like you keep spewing this bullshit about trumped up rape charges. And while I may never truly be able to understand how they feel, but I know that you're the type to pin everything on other people. And you know, I would have been okay if you had just taken your anger out on me. But people like you never stop there."

George's eyes narrowed. "I haven't done anything yet, you ungrateful little-"

"You would promote a system that silences women when they get sexually assaulted. You would use your power to indirectly cast doubt on the claims of rape survivors across the country. I put up with you for years, but I think it's about time for me to open my eyes. This is about more than just me. You are everything wrong with this country, George, and I'll do anything I can to make sure that your political influence shrivels up along with your corpse. My only regret is that you're not still alive for me to wring your little neck and watch the life drain from your eyes."

George recoiled for just a moment, his eyes widening. After a pause, his shoulders relaxed, the anger in his expression faced, and George adopted a superior smirk. When he looked at Ninten, George's eyes burned with icy heat.

"I see that your hormones are still controlling your body," George said, chuckling. "But I will have no mercy on you when you come to your senses. I will pick another child from a different orphanage to carry on the legacy of our PSI. You've never been anything more than a tool, Ninten. Everything that you have ever loved, everything that you have ever known… When you wake up tomorrow, it will _all_ be gone."

"Then I guess I had better make the rest of today count," Ninten said. "I can truly say that I never hope to see you again. Even if I need to resort to what you and Lucas did."

George's eyes widened. "You can't possibly know how to-"

"Goodbye, grandfather. I'll make sure to tell the whole world about your death."

Ninten closed his eyes and felt the usual tingling sensation as he exited George's psyspace for the last time.


	17. I Can Still be Real

**Hey, everyone. Sorry for the almost two month break between uploads. Last month I was doing National Novel Writing Month instead, and this month I've been working through some mental health problems that make it pretty hard to write. So when I do write, I think a lot of my own personal struggles show through this chapter. Sorry about that. :(**

 **One of my greatest challenges with this story was taking something like Mother 3 that truly exists inside a child's mind (both the innocent and the heart-wrenchingly painful) and transitioning that to the lens of a college student like Ninten who is more aware of politics and doesn't view the world as being particularly fantastical, even when PSI is involved. Basically, I wanted to tell a Mother story with an older, more logically-minded (not smarter, but just less tolerant of weird fantasy stuff) protagonist. It was hard for me to fit the real narrative of Mother 3 into that story, and the V-game bridges a lot of the gap.**

 **But Lucas has to come from somewhere, so I tried to set Lucas' past inside real sociopolitical trends within US foreign policy (which makes more sense to Ninten). It might come off as being critical of America, and I wanted to say that I live in America and I like my country overall. But I think that Lucas is understandably bitter about some of the stuff that happened to him, and the more political setting makes sense with someone like Ninten as a protagonist. Hopefully the story still feels natural.**

 **And considering that it's been a while since my last post, I thought I would refresh the plot a bit. here goes... *takes a deep breath***

 **-Ninten was going through Lucas' Magicant to try to find out where Lucas went, and ended up playing the Nowhere Islands V-game, which took him through various scenes in Mother 3. He eventually beat the game and Hinawa revealed Lucas' location.**

 **-Ninten found Lucas dead in the forest, but his consciousness still lived on inside his Magicant. Lucas had died in an accident and didn't want Ninten to reveal to the world that it was possible to live past death in Magicant, as it would benefit the rich more than the poor. Ana disagreed, saying that anything helping people should be pursued.**

 **-Ness is feeling a bit down since his father's cancer diagnosis so Ana and Ninten promised him an ice-cream outing to try and cheer him up.**

 **-Ninten confronted his great-grandfather George and discovered that George is also dead like Lucas and that his consciousness is living on inside his own Magicant. George threatened to arrest Ninten if he didn't keep quiet, and Ninten called his bluff before running off to talk with Lucas. Now Ninten is worried that George might actually try to have him arrested and imprisoned on false charges.**

 **Well, that's it. I hope you enjoy the chapter and as always reviews help me out a _ton._ :) Have a great day!**

* * *

Ninten kept his head down and hands in his pockets as he walked onto the subway. He scanned the area and saw no open seats, so he walked over and hung onto one of the handles drooping down from the metal bar above him. A few people muttered under their breath, and Ninten heard a wet cough from someone further away, but for the most part people kept their eyes looking down at their phones and their lips shut.

Ninten looked out the window as the door closed behind him. No cops in the area, which was a good sign. And even if George had managed to send out the order for the police to capture Ninten, they wouldn't bother to stop every person in a hoodie to get a better look at their face.

Realistically, Ninten should be safe. Safer than some people were in their daily lives walking around their run-down neighborhoods. But rationality didn't stop him from looking out the window, and it didn't stop his heart from pounding in his chest.

The subway trip seemed to draw on for hours, but after Ninten walked out of the tunnels into the sunlight at the edge of the city it felt like no time had passed at all. As he walked up the concrete steps and entered the realm of the aboveground city, he let the sunlight trickle into the lower part of his face. He still kept his eyes covered by the shade of his hood, but he took his hands out of his hoodie pocket.

Just yesterday, he had been studying physics with Ana. He had an entire future laid out for him in paved stone, and all he had to do was keep walking.

But no, Ninten _had_ to go and insult his great-grandfather. Now he would probably either live out the rest of his life as a fugitive or a convict. He had no doubt that George had as much sway over the justice system as he claimed. If there was one thing that George had taught him, it was that money could buy anything. Loyalty, love, and justice all revolved around wads of bills.

Mary had let it slip to Ninten a couple years ago that George had embezzled millions of dollars in relief funds. The news must have disturbed him then, but only now did the implications hit Ninten. George likely ruined thousands of people whose lives could have been improved by the relief funds, and he faced no charges. Meanwhile, people whose only charges were minor drug offences would continue to sit inside grimy prisons for decades.

And then there were the people like Ninten, who hadn't done anything wrong. Ninten tried not to think about how many other people his great-grandfather had shoved into prison in order to hide his own tracks.

He wove through the streets, jaywalking in order to keep from walking next to other people. It was paranoid to think that every person out there could be an informant for George, of course, but he just couldn't bring himself to flip his hood up and show his face to the world.

Thankfully, he had to deal with fewer people once he got away from the concrete sidewalks and walked along the dirt path of Sullivan Park. Ninten almost expected the forest life to fall still, but again his mind's workings were laughably naïve. The chickadees and robins chirped in the distance, and red leaves fluttered down to the ground in the soft breeze. Lucas had died and Ninten was on the run, but the forest was too large and powerful to stop and mourn for them.

Ninten's heart was still pounding in his chest by the time that he reached the waterfall basin where he and Ana had found Lucas' body in the morning. Ana was lying down on the dirt, her puffy jacket covered by a blanket of orange and yellow maple leaves. Ninten walked over and bent down next to her, noting the waterfall carving in her hand.

How long had she been talking with Lucas? Ninten shook his head, sat down next to her, and reached out with his mind. He felt the warmth of the psyspace portal pulsating in front of him, and he channeled his energy into Lucas' Magicant one more time.

* * *

No time to waste in the sunflower fields. Ninten took a quick glance at the green and yellow skies before running over to the waterfall sprite. The running water splashed on his feet and soaked his shoes, and Ninten did his best to ignore his soggy socks as he stared at the waterfall.

"Listen, Lucas," he said out loud. "I know I don't have the waterfall carving that got me in here last time, but please let me in. We need to talk."

Ninten paused for a moment, listening to the splashing water as it drained into the surrounding flower fields.

"Please," Ninten said. "I don't have anything else."

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and reached out with his consciousness.

* * *

The world materialized around Ninten in the same place where he had originally met Lucas, at the top of a waterfall by a much larger river. He looked around and saw Ana talking with Lucas by the waterfall's edge. The setting sun beyond the waterfall cast both Ana's and Lucas' shadows long enough to make them look like giants in the distance.

Ninten ran forward, and Lucas was the first one to turn around. He gave Ninten an eyebrow raise and a frown that seemed to say _"What could it possibly be this time?"_

"You won't believe what just happened," Ninten said, panting as he halted in front of Lucas.

"Ninten?" Ana whirled around. "How did you get here?"

"I took the subway."

"Yeah, but how did you get… here?" Ana gestured towards the air around her.

"I let him in," Lucas said. "I figured that if he ran all the way here then he has information that I should probably hear."

"Yeah," Ninten said. "Listen to this."

Even Lucas didn't manage to keep a neutral expression as Ninten explained what happened between him and George. Sure, Ana was the first one to gasp and put a hand over her mouth, but Lucas' eyes widened when Ninten mentioned that George and Mary had already been dead for years. After he explained George's threats, Ana walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Is there any possibility that he's bluffing?" Ana said.

"George?" Ninten snorted. "Even past death, I don't think there's anything beyond a remote possibility of him going easy on me."

Ana averted her gaze. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I'm sure that he's hurt hundreds of people in worse ways than I'll suffer. Besides, considering that he was the one who pointed out to my parents that they should adopt me, my experiences with him haven't been _all_ bad."

Ana stiffened. "Stop acting like this is okay. Please. Your own great-grandfather is trying to throw you in prison just because you challenged is pride. Can't you see how messed up that is?"

Ninten shrugged. "Just another day in the life of dealing with George, I guess. I'll deal with the consequences when they catch up to me."

"You are _not_ going to prison," Ana said. "They'll crack the smile on your face in the first couple of days."

Ninten shrugged. "We all change to match our environments."

"Prison is going to _break_ you. You can't even talk to some of your professors because you're scared that they'll look at you like you're stupid. How are you going to deal with it day after day when the prison guards look at you like you're not even a goddamn _human?_ "

"Listen, I don't really have a choice. I just wanted to tell Lucas that his secret is already out."

"We might be able to find a way to deal with George," Lucas said. "At this point, his spirit is just psyspace data, and data can always be erased. We just have to figure out how. And in case the police do hunt you down, I can teach you my secret."

"Your…" Ana's eyes flashed with rage as she turned back to Ninten. "Oh don't you _dare_ listen to him, Ninten. You're not going to kill yourself."

"It might be the best way." Ninten managed a weak smile. "Although it would be kind of funny how a rich kid like me would manage to avoid consequences yet again."

"Consequences for what?" Ana said. "Stop acting like you did something wrong."

"Listen, Ana," Lucas said. "Sometimes life isn't fair. We do what we must in order to survive."

Ana barked a laugh. " _This_ is surviving, Lucas?"

"Maybe not. But it's all I have."

"No. Ninten is innocent, and the courts will acquit him."

"You're acting like false sentences don't happen."

"And you're acting like they make up the majority of cases. I'll be the first one to admit that our justice system isn't perfect, but we need to have some faith in it."

Lucas snorted. "Right, the same justice system where you keep suspected terrorists in secret prison camps and never give them a trial. The rich and powerful will always get what they want, Ana. I've seen it before, and I'm seeing it now."

"Can we stop talking about this?" Ninten said. "I get that the American courts are a touchy subject, but arguing about it isn't going to change my plan of action. We'll try to take out George's psyspace data or whatever. If that fails, I'll fight the legal battle. And in case I lose both, I'll come up with a backup plan. Does that make everyone happy?"

"No," Ana said, "But I guess that there's nothing better we can do."

"I just want to let you both know that there's not any justice in this world," Lucas said. "Ninten's been good so far at taking matters into his own hands. I don't want either of you to place your faith in a broken system when we can work together to take our George ourselves."

"And you have a plan for that?" Ninten said.

Lucas smirked. "When do I ever _not_ have a plan, Ninten?"

Ana crossed her arms. "Ugh. Why did you bother to argue with me about what to do if you already have a good idea for how to kick George's ass?"

"Well, 'good idea' might be a bit of a stretch."

Lucas sat down with his legs dangling off the ledge of the cliff. He sighed and looked out at the horizon, his gaze fixed towards the setting sun. In those moments, the sounds of the river running and the waterfall crashing in the basin below breathed life into the silence between Ninten, Ana, and Lucas.

Come to think of it, the river and waterfall should have been loud enough to drown out most of the conversation. But Ninten hadn't needed to shout, and Lucas and Ana kept their voices level even during their bickering. It was probably due to more Magicant shenanigans that Lucas could go on an hour-long rant about if Ninten asked.

Lucas sighed, cutting through the sounds of the crashing waterfall.

"In fact, even calling my suggestion a 'plan' might be a bit generous," Lucas said. "And it doesn't come from me. I would investigate ways to deal with George on my own, of course, but I'm stuck here in this data file. The forest might look vast from this view, but this world is just as small as any other."

A breeze passed by, ruffling Lucas' hair. The sea of leaves swayed in the trees below the cliff side. After a while with no outside contact, Ninten could see how even a whole world could seem sad and lonely.

So how must Mary be doing? She had George with her, of course, but Ninten didn't really consider talking to him to be a human interaction. She probably got bored in there, all alone on the rainy shores of her Magicant. And to know that the world would continue to move on without her, not being able to tell any of them what actually happened, must be torture.

Disconnect from society. Feelings of loneliness. Knowing that nothing will ever fix the emptiness. Ninten knew those symptoms, but as something else than life inside a Magicant.

"Lucas," Ninten said. "You've been depressed before, right?"

"That's what led me into my little accident, yes." Lucas looked up at Ninten. "I know that you struggle with some of those same feelings as well. Or, well, some of those _non-feelings._ I'm sorry."

Ninten shook his head. "This isn't about me. This is about Magicant."

"Okay," Ana said, frowning. "You're making even less sense than usual."

Ninten gestured towards the setting sun, glowing orange as it started to sink beneath the ground. He looked up at the dusk sky and watched as the light filtered through the clouds.

"This is all so beautiful," Ninten said. "But could you imagine being trapped in here, day after day, with no way to get out? You must know that the people outside there living in the real world must be laughing and playing with each other. But you're in here, alone, and even a paradise grows cold and lonely. And the worst part is that you're stuck here for an eternity. You're stuck inside a cage within your own mind, and the only way out is death."

"That's a little melodramatic, isn't it?" Ana said.

Lucas picked up a stone by the riverbank and ran his fingers over it, as if the rough rock were instead made of velvet. He flashed a sad smile and then looked up at Ana.

"No, that's what depression really feels like," Lucas said. "And that's what… being in my Magicant is like, sort of. That's why I told Ninten to keep my existence here a secret. A life without end might sound nice, but a life where every day passes the same way while I drift further away from the life I knew isn't something that I'm sure I want."

"If the practice of living on past death inside of a psyspace becomes normal," Ninten said, "Then everyone will have to exist alone as they start to forget everything that held meaning for them back in the real world."

"I told Ninten that I would teach him my secret if he wanted," Lucas said, "But I'm not sure how different it would feel from twenty years in prison. Living on my own Magicant makes me feel like I'm just dying more slowly. But once I cross that barrier and let my consciousness dissolve into the realm outside my own Magicant, I can never go back. So I'm here, for now. I don't know how long Ninten would last."

"So it's all the more important that we find a way to get rid of George," Ana said. "We can't let Ninten resort to anything drastic."

"I agree." Lucas looked over at Ninten. "Although like I said, I don't think my idea for defeating George is worth much. And it involves going back inside the Nowhere Islands V-game."

Ninten's stomach lurched. A series of memories flashed through his mind. Flames licking at Ninten's heels, heat distorting the view of the Mr. Saturn in the burning house. Claus shrinking back as Isaac pointed a laser gun straight at him. Hinawa's eyes wide with betrayal as the world faded to white after Ninten used 4th-D slip.

Of course Ninten wasn't done. The Nowhere Islands V-game would probably haunt him to his grave.

"Is there any other way?" Ana said. "I don't want Ninten to feel like he has to go back there again."

"I'll be fine," Ninten said, turning away.

"Okay," Ana said, "But how can Ninten entering the Nowhere Islands V-game again possibly help defeat George?"

"I honestly don't know," Lucas said.

Ninten blinked, glanced over at Lucas, and then met Ana's gaze. She looked just as confused as he felt. Ana shook her head and turned back to face Lucas.

"I hate to sound obvious and stupid," Ana said, "But shouldn't you know if you're the one who _made_ the game?"

"Right," Lucas said. "About that. It turns out that I wasn't being completely honest with you when I said that I made the Nowhere Islands V-game."

Lucas took a deep breath.

"Actually," Lucas said, "It was pretty much a complete lie."

"Then who actually made the game?" Ninten said.

Lucas looked over at Ana. "This is something I would like to talk with you about alone."

Ana put her hands on her hips. "Oh, so you don't trust me at all even though _he_ couldn't match your face to your name before yesterday."

"Ninten went through the Nowhere Islands V-game and suffered just for me," Lucas said. "So he deserves to know the truth. He can tell you afterwards if he likes, but I want to be alone with him since he understands the game so well."

Ana's eyes narrowed. "You know, Lucas. If anyone else was so touchy about wanting me away from Ninten, I would expect some sort of foul play."

"You know I wouldn't hurt him."

"Do I?" Ana took a step forward. "Do I really know that, Lucas? Back in school, when I thought I knew you, I don't think you ever showed me a bit of who you really are."

"I'm sorry for everything you and Ninten had to go through just to discover me here," Lucas said. "And I am sorry that I didn't tell you about my past. But I need to speak with Ninten alone."

"What if I refuse?"

"Ana," Ninten said. "Do you trust me to handle this by myself?"

"Of course I do, but it's hard not to be suspicious when Lucas wants to talk with you alone in a place where nobody will be able to hear if you try to scream."

"And you called Ninten melodramatic," Lucas said.

Ninten sighed. "Ana, I'm touched that you care. I really am. But I trust Lucas, and I'm asking you to trust him too. And if you can't do that, I'm asking you to trust my ability to leave his Magicant on my own if anything goes wrong. He can't keep me locked in here."

"Yeah, it's not like he already did that before," Ana said with a snort.

Lucas raised an eyebrow, looking back and forth between Ninten and Ana. "What happened?"

"Oh, don't act like you have no idea what-"

"It wasn't him, Ana." Ninten took a deep breath. "It was George."

" _George_ trapped you in that dingy cave?" Ana frowned. "Well, if you say so…"

"I do. Please, Ana. I know it's hard, but I need to talk with Lucas alone."

Ana crossed her arms and frowned at Lucas.

"Seriously," Lucas said. "What happened to you, Ninten?"

"He got stuck inside your Magicant with no way to leave, forced to play the Nowhere Islands V-game again and again," Ana said. "I was worried that if we couldn't find a way out, his body would die of hunger or thirst. Shouldn't you know about this?"

"Like I said, I didn't actually make the game." Lucas looked out at the sunset. "But I'm sorry. It looks like you suffered even more than I thought on my behalf."

Ana opened her mouth, but then looked into Lucas' wide eyes and grunted instead of speaking.

"All right," Ana said. "I guess if this is what you want, Ninten, I can leave you two alone." Whirling around to face Lucas, "But you had better explain yourself afterwards."

Lucas nodded. "Feel free to reenter the waterfall sprite in thirty minutes or so. If all goes well by then, Ninten will be back in the Nowhere Islands V-game and I can explain more about what's going on."

Ana narrowed her eyes, nodded, and vanished from sight a moment later without a goodbye for Lucas or Ninten. Lucas got up to his feet and released a sigh, looking at the running water of the river and then the forest behind him. A bird chirped in the distance.

"I don't think Ana meant what she said personally," Ninten told Lucas. "It's just been stressful for both of us, and I don't think she's comfortable with her own assumptions of what can go on inside a psyspace anymore."

Lucas smiled at Ninten. "No, I agree with her. It does seem a bit shady for me to want to speak with you alone. Now I just need to make up an excuse to tell her after we're done talking."

Ninten's heart skipped a beat. An excuse for what?

"She's gone," Lucas said, facing towards the forest. "You can come out now."

A figure emerged from behind one of the trees. Ninten took a step back.

"And you're welcome, by the way," Lucas said. "I don't think you understand how big of a deal it is to get Ana Aniah to have blind faith in me and Ninten when none of the evidence adds up."

The figure walked out of the forest and into the sunlight of the riverbank, revealing red hair with the same cowlick as Lucas, along with the same pink cheeks and blue eyes.

Claus.

"Wait," Ninten said. "How are you here?"

"You didn't ask when I took you here the first time," Claus said.

Claus spoke in a voice just as deep as Lucas', but he looked about the same age as he did in the Nowhere Islands V-game, which would put him at about twelve or thirteen compared to Lucas being a freshman in college. Claus walked next to his brother, and Lucas had almost a full head of height on him.

"Oh, back when you were talking to Hinawa about whether or not I actually beat the V-game," Ninten said. "Wait, how did you get to this place back then as well? I thought that only Lucas could live here."

"Well, he's not usually supposed to come here," Lucas said. "I could dismiss him right now if I wanted to."

"Aw, but we both know you have a soft spot for your dear twin brother," Claus said.

Ninten frowned. When Claus had first taken him and Hinawa to the waterfall and forest where he and Lucas stood now, Ninten had no reason to question Lucas' claims that he and his surroundings were all part of the V-game. After all, this was the utopia that Ninten and Lucas had fought for. Leaves swaying in the wind, dusk cloaking the trees in a warm haze, an azure pool below the crashing waterfall.

The Dark Dragon was supposed to destroy the world and make it anew, protecting all life in the world. This new world, beautiful as it was, now seemed sad and empty to Ninten. It might look like a tranquil setting, but without the rest of the people present Ninten could see why Lucas might want to leave his consciousness to dissolve so that he could finally die for real.

This place contained Lucas' true spirit, something more real than a V-game could ever grasp, yet to Ninten it seemed more lifeless than a world that the Dark Dragon might have created inside the Nowhere Islands V-game. Still, if this place were real and if Claus were just a character within the V-game, how _had_ Claus managed to come here in the first place?

"Finally putting the pieces together?" Lucas said. "I was worried that you'd figure me out a lot sooner."

"You shouldn't have," Claus said. "I never knew before talking to you here how _distracting_ words can actually be. I'm sure that Ninten was captivated by your own tale and didn't stop to think about all the details. I wouldn't."

Ninten shook his head. "I still don't get it. Lucas, Claus is…"

"I should probably start from the beginning," Lucas said with a frown. "I promise I'll get to my dear brother eventually."

"That's him, all right," Claus said, rolling his eyes. "Always putting me off for later."

Lucas' eye twitched, but he made no other notion to acknowledge Claus.

"Actually, It might be easier to show you," Lucas said. "Just give me a moment."

The image of the trees and the sky started to fade into darkness. It looked like night, except that there were no stars to light up the sky. The wave of darkness grew closer and within seconds passed under Ninten's feet, erasing the ground and the waterfall nearby. The world fell silent.

Ninten looked over at Claus, who shrugged.

The world reformed around Ninten in an instant. He found himself standing on cobblestone ground next to a well in what looked like a central square of a town. Flower beds scattered around the well gave off a faintly sweet aroma, and wooden cabins lined up at the edge of the cobblestone square reminded Ninten of his early childhood years back in Podunk.

"Well, here we are," Lucas said, gesturing outwards. "Welcome to Tazmily Village."

Ninten frowned, studying the wooden panels of the houses.

"I don't understand," Ninten said. "It looks just like a normal town."

"Well, I wouldn't call it normal, and I think Claus would agree," Lucas said. "But it was a town."

"Wait." Ninten looked over at Lucas. "You mean this place was _real?_ "

"Still is, technically." Lucas smiled. "The Nowhere Islands V-game was based off some real places and events."

"When you said that this place is 'technically' real, it raises quite a few suspicions."

"Oh, we're getting there," Lucas said. "But first, we have to go back in time to the industrial revolution."

"You mean Henry Ford and that assembly line stuff?"

"Further. Back to the steam engine and the loom. A bunch of privileged white people felt disenfranchised and complained that their country was falling to ruin because times were changing and all that."

"Sounds a bit familiar," Ninten said.

"It's been the story of America ever since its creation," Lucas said. "Anyways, these people were my ancestors, and they got so mad that people worked inside factories instead of farms that they took a few ships and sailed out into the Pacific Ocean."

"As you can assume," Claus said, "This wasn't quite how it was described to us when we were learning about our own history. There was a lot more talk about why it was necessary to strike out and start a new life."

"The reasons aren't all that important," Lucas said. "And our ancestors were honestly pretty stupid. Most people who felt disenfranchised went to California to get rich off of gold. Others went to Oregon to create their own little community and farm crops until they died. I think our ancestors would have fit in well there."

"But instead," Claus said, "They ended up finding a set of islands that they ended up calling the 'Nowhere Islands.' Amazingly enough, the islands were completely uncharted, so nobody knew to check there and find them. Not that I suspect anyone really cared."

"Our ancestors claimed that there weren't any natives inhabiting the islands when they arrived," Lucas said, "And there surely aren't any now."

"What made you so cynical about your heritage?" Ninten asked.

"Our ancestors lived in what they described as harmony with nature," Lucas said, ignoring Ninten, "And lived on without modern medicine or technology. From the records I've found, infant mortality was far higher than anywhere in the US. And without medicine to stop infections, many children perished as well. Tazmily Village was one of the most objectively dangerous places in the world to be born into. But generation after generation told themselves that they were living in a utopia."

"It wasn't all so bad," Claus said. "Some of my fondest memories were of the mountains we used to scale and the forests we used to run through. It's not good to watch so many people die without medicine, of course, but we were all able to appreciate natural beauty during out time here. And we also found this."

Claus took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He knelt down and placed his fingertips on the ground, and one of the rocks within the cobblestone ground wrestled itself free and flew up in front of Claus' face. Claus' eyes flashed open and he placed a hand under the stone, but the rock continued to levitate above his hand.

"It's worth pointing out," Lucas said, "That we discovered PSI after George did."

"But we made it our own," Claus said. "And then…"

"And then," Lucas said, nodding, "The Americans showed up on our doorstep."

"What did they want with you?" Ninten said. "This place doesn't look like it produces particularly valuable resources."

Lucas gestured towards the rock floating above Claus' hand. "They wanted psychics like me and Claus."

"A lot of people in Tazmily were psychics," Claus said, "And we had myths about a Dark Dragon that gave us powers and would return the world to a more natural state if we ever needed it to. It was the same beliefs that you saw in the V-game, really."

"And some of the Americans bought into it, believe it or not," Lucas said. "I'm assuming that these were the sort of people who would hang up crystals around their homes and talk about their metaphysical properties all the time. They thought that by raising their children here, they could create a new generation of psychics. The American Government wanted to test out the uses of psychic powers, so they supported these people and forced us to integrate them into their society. These were the first pigmasks."

Ninten blinked. "But Hinawa said that the pigmasks were fascist."

"These people weren't," Lucas said. "They were kind, but deluded. There was nothing special about the Nowhere Islands or Tazmily Village. Take a look at every island with a small human population and I'm sure you'll find at least one with a high percentage of psychics just by chance. We were that island, and the people read too much into it."

"But it gave the American government an excuse to insert themselves into our lives," Claus said. "And eventually they cracked down on us. The next wave they sent were military types. They put us under martial law and constructed bases on the island. The original pigmasks had to blend in and stay out of the conflict. Some of them moved back to America."

"So did these people actually wear pig masks?" Ninten said.

"No, that was part of the game's aesthetic," Lucas said. "But the new wave of pigmasks weren't any less malicious than the ones you saw in the game. And it soon became clear what they wanted."

A chill ran down Ninten's spine. "Which was…?"

"Me," Claus said, averting his gaze. "They wanted to test the limits of psychic powers, and I was one of the strongest psychics in the village."

"They took my brother from us," Lucas said. "Pushed him to his limits. Broke down his mind. Eventually, they must have gotten the information they wanted from us, because they gave Claus back. But every night, he would wake up screaming from nightmares."

"I never remembered what they were about," Claus said. "I guess it didn't matter. My chest tightened the same way each night, and I woke up feeling like I couldn't breathe."

"He refused to talk to us," Lucas said. "He barely ate. So I ran away from home. Struck out to go to one of the mythical shrines of the Dark Dragon," Lucas said. "That's where the story of my adventure came from. I dodged some American soldiers and made it to the shrine that my ancestors must have built. I prayed for the Dark Dragon to rebirth the world into a simpler place, just like the stories said he would. But of course he didn't. And when I got back…"

Lucas snapped, and the wooden houses in the distance crumbled to ashes. Ninten looked out into the distance and saw black scars on the earth where grass had been, with a few tufts of yellow vegetation struggling to remain upright in the landscape. A moaning wind blew across the town square, ruffling Lucas' shirt. He didn't seem to notice.

"This is what I came back to see," Lucas said, staring at the ashes.

"A fire?" Ninten said.

"Look down," Lucas said.

Ninten frowned, and then glanced at his feet. The cobblestone looked just as grey and rocky as ever.

"Out of everything that changed, I don't see why you want me to look at the streets," Ninten said.

"Exactly," Lucas said. "We paved the streets in stone, but we built our houses out of wood because they looked more _natural._ My ancestors probably thought they were being noble." Lucas snorted. "It was vanity. And that vanity brought the end of Tazmily Village."

"Are they still rebuilding?" Ninten said.

"Follow me." Lucas looked off into the distance. "I have something I want to show you."

Lucas walked along the cobblestone path. Claus followed behind, wincing as he looked around at the ashes where the houses used to be. Ninten let out a sigh and ran forward until he caught up with Claus.

"So I guess the first scene I saw in the V-game with the forest fire was based off of reality as well," Ninten said.

Claus nodded. "The events are a bit scrambled, but the Nowhere Islands V-game tells a familiar story for us."

Claus bit his lip and looked away. Ninten looked up at Lucas, whose posture seemed as relaxed as ever, and shook his head. Lucas must have known that it would hurt Claus to see the ashes of his homeland. Ninten couldn't see how he could possibly be the same shy boy playing with Dragos in the Nowhere Islands V-game.

"Here we are," Lucas said.

Lucas halted in front of a steel building with a pair of tanks parked on the outside. Burn marks covered the ground leading up to the building, but the steel itself looked untarnished.

"The pigmask military camp," Lucas said, "Was converted into a prison camp after the fire. The pigmasks blamed us for everything. Called us terrorists. I don't think most of us knew what Americans did to suspected terrorists. Would you like to look inside?"

Lucas walked up and placed his palm on the steel door, and then looked back at Ninten.

"Would you like to see, Ninten, what people in power really do to the helpless?" Lucas said.

"When you were talking about secret prison camps for suspected terrorists with Ana," Ninten said, "You meant-"

"Do you think it's different here than anywhere else?" Lucas said. "Than in even _America?_ I can name you dozens of people who were held without trial in secret New York prisons. This is what the people in power _do._ "

"I think they were afraid of us," Claus said. "They were afraid that our anger had boiled over after all of the abuse we had suffered. To this day, I'm still not sure if they were right about that."

Claus bit his lip and looked away.

"Is this painful for you?" Ninten said. "We can go somewhere else if you want."

"I'm… fine." Claus smiled, but it looked forced. "I just don't want to get any closer to the pigmask military camp. It has bad memories for me."

Oh, of course. That must be where they experimented on Claus because of his psychic powers.

"I think that neither of us want to go in there," Ninten said. "I'll stay here with you."

Claus gulped and nodded. "Thanks."

"I was the only one that they let go," Lucas said, closing his eyes. "I'm not sure why. I imagine that most of my childhood friends are still on Nowhere Islands and will live the rest of their lives out as undocumented prisoners."

"And as for me," Claus said, "I woke up one day within the Nowhere Islands V-game. Mom was there too, and a few others. I know you've met Isaac."

"I encountered them all when I went inside the Nowhere Islands V-game as well," Lucas said.

"We were told that we would watch the tragedies of our islands play out again and again," Claus said, "And we would never be able to stop them. Our jobs were to moderate the game and explain the rules to any players who entered. Some of us like Isaac went crazy from living within the cycle of suffering for so long and seeing no way out. So he tried to mess with the world within the game just to show that he _could_."

"I guess I can't really blame him too harshly, then," Ninten said. "But when I saw him pointing his laser gun at you, I couldn't just sit by and watch."

"I'm glad that you took action," Claus said. "But remember, that wasn't me. We saw ourselves inside the game, but we moderators had a life before, in the world outside of the V-game. At least, that's what our memories tell us."

Ninten gasped. "But that would mean…"

"That was another lie Lucas told you," Claus said. "Yes, the Claus, Lucas, and Kumatora inside the game are just constructs. But the moderators like me, Isaac, Fassad, and mother are real people who have been brought back from the dead. During all of those conversations we had in that glass box, when I was the Masked Man, you were talking to a real person."

"So there really is so much more to the Nowhere Islands V-game than it first appeared," Ninten said. "So much more than I could have imagined. You're actually… the real Claus?"

Claus flashed a sad smile. "Look into my eyes, Ninten. Even if my memories are lies, even if I'm not the _actual_ Claus and my mind was created by someone else, I promise that there's something real behind them. Because isn't that what you taught me, Ninten? Even if I'm not the exact Claus that Lucas knew in the real life, I can still be Claus."

Claus looked over at the tanks, then at the steel fortress in front of him, then up at the cloudless sky. Claus stared up at the sun and closed his eyes.

"I can still be real," Claus said.


	18. Friends Forever

**Phew we're getting close to the end. After this chapter, I anticipate four more (which means it's probably going to be more like six in reality). But hey, at least I'm actually updating these days. :)**

 **This chapter unfortunately isn't quite as plot-heavy as some of the others (although maybe a bit more than last chapter). I hope that these chapters don't come off as being too slow, but I will say that I feel like most of the info in here is necessary. Trying to reconcile the hopeful and whimsical nature of Mother 3 with some of the realities I'm dealing with can take a lot of words, and at least in my mind it's worth devoting a lot of time to. Otherwise, the story just feels weird.**

 **Anyways, the mistreatment of the people of the Nowhere Islands by the American Government discussed last chapter is based off of something that actually happened in the modern day, namely the Abu Ghraib prison. The details of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse are quite a bit more gruesome than what I put in this story (I left most of it kind of vague for a reason), so be careful if you go looking it up. Just wanted to let you guys know that I'm not pulling this stuff out of my ass. Well, not always. :)**

 **And I'm also excited to share the story's climax and ending with you. I have some cool scenes planned out in my head, and I hope they sound just as cool once I actually type them out. :) *crosses fingers***

 **All right, I think that's enough of me talking. Have a great day! :D Oh and Happy New Year's!**

* * *

So many unanswered questions.

"Ninten?" Claus said, frowning. "Is everything okay?"

Ninten looked up at the pigmask—no, the _American_ military building in front of him. Lucas still had his hand place on the steel door, his eyes closed and the corners of his mouth tilted upwards in a smirk. It almost looked like his body was there, but his consciousness was away in an entirely different Magicant.

But of course, Lucas _was_ just a consciousness now. If he traveled to a different data file, he would fade away from this one.

"Ninten?"

"Sorry, Claus." Ninten shook his head. "It's just a lot to take in."

"I understand," Lucas said, his eyes still closed. "I just thought that you should know who we really are before you jump back into that V-game."

Ninten's stomach lurched. Oh, right. At least the Nowhere Islands V-game couldn't possibly show him anything worse than what he had already seen.

Right?

"I should probably give you a bit of a run-down about the V-game itself," Claus said. "You know, being a moderator and all."

Claus flashed an uncertain smile, and then glanced at the American military building and shuddered.

"Right," Ninten said. "Let's get out of here."

Claus' shoulders relaxed. He nodded in thanks and started to walk away, a little too briskly to match his casual, hands-in-pockets posture. After a moment, he looked back at Ninten and Lucas.

"You two can go on alone," Lucas said. "I don't think Claus wants me around for what he has to tell you, anyway."

Claus' cheeks flushed, but he made no move to deny Lucas. After a moment of silence, Ninten turned away and followed Claus away from the military camp. After a couple minutes of walking, the redness in Claus' face started to fade away. Eventually, the ashes of the town square came into sight, and Claus grimaced.

"I know I should probably just get on with business," Claus said, "But I was thinking of a place that I wanted to show you. Although, you're probably being chased by cops in the real world at this point, huh? You probably don't want to help me relive my silly childhood memories."

"So far as I know, I'm just like any wanted criminal," Ninten said. "I don't think that the cops have my trail, so I have nothing better to do with my time than hide in the forest like this. I would love to see any place that you want to show me."

Claus' eyes widened.

"I, uh, okay. It's right this way, then."

Claus pointed out past to a dirt path past the town square. As he and Ninten walked through the village along the cobblestone streets, Claus kept his gaze down on the ground. A gust of wind sent black ashes flying, and some of the specks stuck to Claus' plaid shirt. Ninten covered his mouth and nose until the breeze passed, and then coughed. Even though he knew that he couldn't get asthma inside a Magicant, his heart pounded in anticipation.

After walking through the remains of the village center, the path transitioned into a concrete road. Claus walked to the side and placed a hand on the metal railing, letting his fingers slide over the steel as he walked forward. Out in the distance, Ninten saw the sparkling sea, with shifting waves that went up, down, up, down. In the horizon, the sea merged with the cloudless sky, and the sun's rays beat down on Ninten as ash floated by on the air.

Claus followed the railing as it made a turn to the left, and he walked down a set of steps to arrive at a small patch of beach. Ninten looked to the right, spotting a larger beachfront with overturned beach chairs and parasols that had gaping burn holes. He paused for a second, and then followed Claus down to the smaller shore without the remnants of destruction.

By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, Claus was sitting down on the sand, leaning back with the support of his arms and hands. He stared out at the sea and didn't make a move when Ninten sat down next to him.

Seeing him on the beach like this, it came to Ninten's mind again that Claus really was just a child. Other people Claus' age would be running on the shore, building sand castles and splashing in the water under the gaze of the sun. But Claus kept looking out at the water, his gaze locked in place and his expression stiff.

Claus had been captured and broken down when he was just a child.

Claus had watched his village burn when he was just a child.

And Lucas had brought him here all the same, knowing the pain that Claus had suffered.

"You've probably seen beaches before," Claus said. "And I don't really know why I expected this one to look special. Lucas and I spent so much time playing here that I assumed it would look magnificent. But of course it's just water, sand, and salt."

"If this beach was a part of your childhood," Ninten said, "I'm glad to see it."

Claus finally looked away, sitting up straight and shaking his head.

"Maybe the steel and the concrete are just ruining it," Claus said. "When we played on the beach, we didn't have those fancy umbrellas or chairs. We had to walk up the hill to our house with sand up our swim trunks instead of sitting down in a car and waiting for someone to take us exactly where we needed to go. This might sound strange, but I liked it better before the Americans brought us their modern conveniences."

"I think I can see why." Ninten looked out at the ocean. "I lived in a rural town until I was about your age. We even called it 'Podunk' as a joke. There are some times I can't help but look back fondly on those days. Life was so _simple._ "

Claus nodded.

"But most of the time, I'm glad for my psyspace and psyweb access in the city that we moved to," Ninten said. "And sometimes when I want to go back to my past, I can boot up some countryside scenes in my psyspace. It always struck me as ironic, but I think that it was a good exercise. Technology is a tool, and while some people use it to overwhelm our lives, we're using it right now to keep you around so we can look out into the ocean together."

Up, down, up, down. Ninten took a deep breath and let himself get lost, just for a moment, in the rhythm of the waves.

"I'm not sure if our ancestors did the right thing when they tried to run away from technology and progress," Claus said. "I don't know if what Lucas said about infant mortality and disease were true. I'm certainly not advocating that we live without modern medicine. But I enjoyed my time here in Tazmily without all of your modern American gadgets. I really did."

"Well, don't let us take that away from you," Ninten said. "If you want to live this way, there's nothing to stop you from-"

Oh, right. It was so easy to forget that Claus, sitting right next to him now, was dead. And yet Claus' help had been the key factor that allowed Ninten to find Lucas in the first place.

Could someone really be dead if they kept on taking actions that affected the living?

"And Lucas felt that way once, too," Claus said. "He would wake up each morning with a starry look in his eyes. He would stare at a drop of dew on a leaf for minutes while I tried to drag him away to do something more fun."

"The wingbeat of a butterfly and the veins of a maple leaf, huh?" Ninten said.

Claus smiled. "I did take some inspiration from Lucas when I first said that line. But look at where he is now."

"It seems like he doesn't really care about your feelings."

"Well, there's that, but I think part of it's my fault for not speaking up," Claus said. "It kills me to see him acting so stiff and cold. He was my little brother, you know. The pigmasks, uh, Americans discovered his psychic powers before mine, but I volunteered to go through their experimetns in his place."

"Oh, wow." Ninten grimaced. "That must have been awful for you. I'm sure that Lucas appreciated it, even if he's not showing any gratitude right now."

"I think he hated me for it," Claus whispered.

Ninten flinched. "But why?"

"When the Americans finally let me go, I behaved the way Lucas is acting right now. Blunt. Tense. Aggressive. He told you about how I would wake up every night screaming, but what he didn't say was how he was always the first one to come running and comfort me."

"That's sweet."

"It was. But every time he came into my room during the middle of the night, his eyes always told the same story. He wished that it was him in my place, Ninten. He couldn't bear the thought that I was hurting for him, and his expression grew more and more haggard every night. Because even through all of his help, I was getting worse. Some days, I wouldn't come out of my room. I ended up breaking a desk in half when my psychic powers went out of control."

"I don't think that means he hated you."

"He did." Claus hugged his knees. "He hated me for making him feel guilty. And I don't really blame him. That's probably why he left."

Again, Ninten had to remind himself of how young Claus was.

"You mean when he went off to try and pray for the Dark Dragon to save the world?" Ninten said.

Claus nodded. "I think that I was the one who pushed him over the edge. He probably thought that he was just making things worse for me, when in truth he was the only reason that I could keep myself from falling apart entirely. I remember that he gave me another look on the day that he left, a look that said 'it should have been you going out on an adventure like this.' That was the last memory I have of him."

"Right, because the fire…"

Claus shook his head. "That's what I told Lucas, but the truth is that I couldn't handle it after he left. My mom was amazing, of course. Patient, helpful, loving, everything I could have wanted. But she wasn't Lucas. She wasn't my other half. She wasn't _enough._ " Claus hopped up to his feet. "That was what I felt worst about. That she poured so much of her heart out for me, sacrificed so much to take care of me, believed every day that I would get better, and then I crushed it all."

Ninten swallowed a lump in his throat. "Is it okay if I ask how?"

Claus walked backwards and leaned on the metal railing of the staircase. He looked down at the sand, then up at the sun blazing in the sky.

"Sure," Claus said. "It's a simple explanation, really."

Ninten nodded and took a deep breath.

"One day," Claus said. "I walked out the door, put a gun in my mouth, and pulled the trigger."

Claus said the words so casually that Ninten had to repeat them in his head before realizing what they meant.

"Oh my gosh," Ninten said. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine what it must have felt like."

Claus shook his head. "Even if I hadn't killed myself that day, I would have died in the fire anyway. Or I would be living as a war prisoner back on the Nowhere Islands right now. Neither option appeals to me much. I'm just sorry for what I did to my mother, and I'm glad to have a second chance."

Ninten nodded. "Even if life inside a dark V-game can get a little hopeless and repetitive, I'm glad that it's at least _something_ for you."

Claus flashed a weak smile. "You can take credit for part of that. When I talked with you under the stars inside the glass box, it reminded me of… well, not my life before the Americans and their experiments. I don't know if I can ever go back to how I was in Tazmily. But you reminded me of how I was in the start, being in the Nowhere Islands V-game. When I still had hope that I could set things right."

Claus sighed, and sat down back on the beach. Even with his legs crossed, he continued to hold onto the metal railing with his right hand.

"But win or lose, I'm assuming that this is going to be your last time in Lucas' Magicant?" Claus said.

Ninten paused. "Is it bad if I say yes?"

"I guess it would feel a little bit like when Lucas left me to go off on his adventure." Claus sighed. "But you have to go, don't you?"

"I can't really say yes if it's going to make you feel like killing yourself again."

"Oh," Claus' eyes widened. "I didn't mean in _that_ way."

"Then what did you mean? How else did you feel when Lucas left you?"

"I dunno. Just… sad, I guess. Alone."

"Then I can't leave you."

"But you also can't stay. You have your own life to live, don't you?"

"I think you're a part of my life now, Claus. Maybe I won't be here all the time, but I think I could find ways to stop by and visit every so often. How that sound?"

Claus looked over at Ninten, his eyes widening.

"You would actually do that for me?"

"Of course. That's what friends are for."

"Friends." Claus laughed. "With a dead person."

"That doesn't matter to me."

"I think it would matter to anyone."

"One of the people closest to me is also dead," Ninten said, "And has been for half of my life. We still keep in touch."

"Ooh." Claus eyes twinkled with curiosity. "Who is it?"

"My great-grandmother," Ninten said. "Her name is Mary."

"Married to that George person who wants you arrested?"

Ninten paused. He supposed it made sense that Claus knew that George was his great-grandfather, so the question hadn't exactly come out of nowhere.

"Yeah," Ninten said. "Every time George scolded me, I would start crying and she would rush over and hug me. It was easy to share all of my secrets with her when I was already sobbing."

"How young were you when this happened?"

"It never really stopped, actually."

Claus raised an eyebrow. "Even the sobbing?"

"I still cry in front of her sometimes. George, not as much. Instead of crying the last time I was angry at him, I said that I wish he were still alive so I could strangle him. It felt pretty good."

"And… does that have anything to do with why the police are currently pursuing you?"

"Probably. I still don't regret it."

Claus smiled. "I get it. If you always do what other people want, you'll eventually give up all the pieces of yourself. I sometimes wish that I had screamed more often." Claus looked up at the sky. "Or cried. If I showed my body that I could get my emotions out on my own, maybe it wouldn't have taken all of my feelings away from me. And then maybe we could have met for real."

"You mean, with both of us alive?"

"It's a stupid dream," Claus said. "Like I told you before, I was destined to die in a fire or live my life out as a prisoner anyway. Although in that way, maybe we're not so different. I just sometimes wonder… if things had turned out a little differently, do you think that we would could have been friends in real life?"

Ninten looked into Claus' eyes. Scared, but also tense and determined. Better to tell the truth now when Claus was strong enough not to look away.

"I think if you had come to America," Ninten said, "Or if I had come to the Nowhere Islands, you would have made friends with someone else. Were you listening in when Lucas and I were talking back by the waterfall in the forest?"

Claus hesitated, and then nodded.

"Then you must have heard my friend Ana. How did she seem to you?"

Claus bit his lip. "I don't really know. I guess she seemed stressed."

"Yeah, she does get stressed, and I think it's understandable as to why she does. But if you saw her in our day-to-day lives, I think you would find that she's a lot more fun and outgoing than I am. Oh, and she's also smarter and more attractive, if you care about that. She'd make a better friend than I would if we had normal lives."

Claus cocked his head, paused in thought for a moment, and then laughed.

"You know, I must have played out that question a hundred times in my head, wondering how you would respond," Claus said, "And each time, I didn't picture anything close to what you just said."

"Uh… sorry?"

"Oh, no. Don't apologize. Do I look like I'm mad at you?" Claus beamed.

Well, no. Not really. But out of all the responses Ninten could think of for what he just said, grinning was not the one that came to mind.

"I think you're right, in a way," Claus said. "Not that you're boring. I'm sure that you're just as much fun as Ana."

"You haven't seen me at a party. I hide away in my own shell like a turtle."

"But the reason you're such a great friend is that you sit down and have a nice heart to heart with me instead of stressing out about your own situation. Think about it. Every second you're wasting makes you more likely to get caught by the police, right? And you're not really getting anything done by talking with me."

"Why would I agree to go into the Nowhere Islands V-game again if I didn't want to help people like you?" Ninten said.

"Uh, because we've told you that your life depends on it?" Claus laughed. "We're only friends because you shine under this sort of pressure. Most people would only think of themselves. So I'm glad that I got to see this side of you, even if it means I have to be in a pretty desperate position."

"Trust me, Claus. That isn't what I meant. I'm pretty terrible under pressure."

"You saved the other Claus back in that game." Claus held a finger up. "You saved my mother." Two fingers. "You saved Lucas and Kumatora, twice." Three, four. "And then you saved me. All in life or death situations for yourself."

Claus held up an open hand, all five fingers extended up. "Yeah, _terrible_ under pressure."

"If I had been better, I could have found a way to save more people without needing to die each time."

Claus snorted. "I guess that's true. You're so heroic that it's honestly a little bit annoying. Always having to sacrifice yourself in some noble attempt to save a bystander."

"Heroic?" Ninten frowned.

"And _true_ heroes are obnoxiously humble and don't ever accept compliments about them."

Ninten opened his mouth, and then closed it. If he continued to deny the statement about him being a hero, he would just be playing into Claus' argument. Certainly Ana would find a way not to look like a fool in this situation, but anything that came out of Ninten's mouth would probably result in Claus laughing at him.

"But I do admire how much you care," Claus said. "And if we are actually friends, then I should probably keep an eye on you. I'm probably not supposed to, but I'm going to enter the V-game with you."

"Aren't you always in the V-game?"

"No, I'll be _in_ the V-game with you. Not just watching along."

"Won't that mess up the story of the game or whatever?"

"Well, that's what you're supposed to do anyways." Claus grinned. "So I'd call that a win. I can't just abandon you to the mercy of the Nowhere Islands after you said that you'd be there for me."

"You don't have to help me if it will put you in danger. I don't know if there's someone overseeing you, but it sounds like you can't generally go around doing whatever you want in the game."

"If our places were reversed, would you break the rules to help me out with the V-game?"

Ninten paused, and Claus looked at him with a knowing smile. Of _course_ Ninten would help Claus, no matter the cost.

"Right," Claus said, as if reading Ninten's mind. "Because that's what friends _do._ You would go into the V-game with me, so I'll go into the V-game with you. Any objections?"

Ninten kept his mouth shut.

"Good," Claus said. "I should probably prepare, then."

"Prepare for…?"

Claus hopped to his feet and stretched his arms up to the sky with a groan. He jumped up onto the railing and tried to balance his feet on the thin metal tubes. After a couple seconds of wobbling, he fell back onto the sand with a _thud._ He raised his hand, smiled, and gave Ninten a thumbs-up.

"For the game, silly," Claus said. "It looks like my balance skills could use a little more work."

Claus dusted himself and stood up.

"I guess I have one last question for you," Claus said. "If you do keep visiting me, then you're going to keep getting older and older while I stay the same. You'll get a job, and then probably have kids. And even when you grow as old as my grandfather Alec, I'll still look like I'm thirteen."

The words faded off into silence, until the only sound Ninten could hear was the crashing of waves on the shore.

"That's not a question," Ninten said.

"Will it be weird?" Claus said. "Will you feel strange growing old and dying while I just stay here?"

"I don't think it will feel weird for me," Ninten said. "But what about you?"

Claus blinked. "Me?"

"How will you feel, watching me grow old, knowing that one day I'll die and leave you alone again?"

"Alone…" Claus looked down at the sand.

"I'll try to stay with you for long as I can," Ninten said, "But we all have to leave this world eventually."

"Of course." Claus sighed. "I guess I'll deal with it when the time comes. We have more pressing issues to worry about. Thanks for the chat, Ninten. I'll let my mother brief you on everything she knows."

Claus offered a dramatic bow and then snapped his fingers. The next moment, thin air replaced his body, leaving Ninten alone with the seaside winds and crashing waves.

"Claus, wait."

Ninten ran forward to the spot where Claus stood moments ago, sticking his hand out into the wind. He twisted his hand to feel the breeze on his fingertips and then balled his hand into a fist.

"I don't know if I was ready to say goodbye just yet."

"It's okay," came a voice behind him. "For Claus, that was not a goodbye. It was a 'see you soon'."

Ninten whirled around to see a brown-haired woman in a red dress emerging from the sea. When she stepped onto the shore, her clothes and hair looked perfectly dry.

"I don't think I ever got a chance to thank you," Hinawa said, "For saving my son."

Ninten took a step back. "Is that… actually you?"

"And I apologize for trying to stand in your way inside the V-game. Although in my defense, if you had abandoned Lucas' Magicant when I told you to then none of this would have happened."

Hinawa walked further inland on the sands. She held herself the same way as the Hinawa from the burning forest and Mt. Oriander did, composed and confident yet somehow warm and inviting. She didn't look as stiff as the actual Hinawa who played the pigmask colonel and who told Ninten that he hadn't beaten the V-game after Lucas passed his heart to the Dark Dragon.

Hinawa passed by Ninten and only halted to sit down on the concrete steps. She hung onto the metal railing with her right hand as the wind sent her dress flapping.

"I assume that you could tell the difference," Hinawa said, "But I was the pigmask Hinawa at Saturn Valley and the judge who talked with you and Claus by that waterfall in Lucas' Magicant. But I've seen everything that you've done."

"Uh, you have?"

"In the game, of course," Hinawa smiled. "I haven't been stalking you for your whole life. I'm sorry for putting on my stern face in front of you. Oh, and trying to kill you in the game."

"Right," Ninten said. "That. It's fine."

Hinawa raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, I understand now why you tried to stop me. Things would be a lot simpler if I had never found Lucas' body."

Hinawa nodded. "They would be."

"But I'm glad that I did," Ninten said.

"You are?" Hinawa frowned.

"I'm glad that I learned the truth about you, Lucas, and Claus. I'm glad that I was able to see what actually happened to the Nowhere Islands. And I'm glad that I got to talk with Claus again."

"Well." A slight smile came to Hinawa's lips. "I suppose that's good. And I suppose that I should give you the run-down on the Nowhere Islands V-game before night falls."

"What time is it?" Ninten looked down at his wrist by instinct.

"A little after seven. But it's a warm evening, so your body's not in any danger back in the real world."

"Oh yeah, we should probably get things moving."

"I was the one who came up with the idea that George could be stopped by playing the Nowhere Islands V-game again," Hinawa said, "Although really, I don't have many leads to go on."

"And you passed that information on to Lucas?"

"Despite his long, roundabout stories about his past that were designed shock and disgust you, he does want to help. He's… never been good at just saying what he means, you know."

Ninten nodded, thinking back to when he saw Lucas and Claus playing with the Dragos on Mt. Oriander. Maybe Lucas' strange tangents meant that he just wasn't quite ready to open up for real. If so, he had certainly kept Ninten captivated by the truth behind the Nowhere Islands long enough to stall for Hinawa to take over.

Or maybe…

"Lucas thought that I would need to know the past about the Nowhere Islands," Ninten said. "Why?"

Hinawa looked away. "He wanted to prepare you for the fact that there's not going to be a happy ending for the Nowhere Islands. I think he was afraid that you would try to save the world again when you need to burn it down."

Burn, burn, burn. For a moment, Ninten's mind went back to the Pigmask Mothership, where he looked down at a sea of flames spreading across Saturn Valley, eating up grass and houses alike.

And then Hinawa in her pigmask colonel suit, taking steps that _clanged_ off the steel floor of the Mothership, looking at Ninten with eyes colder than ice…

"Were you being sincere, back then?" Ninten said. "Or did you only want to stop me from finding Lucas?"

Hinawa looked up at him. "As a pigmask, or as the judge that refused to let you beat the game?"

"Both."

Hinawa sighed. "Keeping you away from Lucas was my primary goal, of course. I didn't want his secret getting out, and I didn't want a nice boy like you getting involved in our mess. But it's easier to twist the truth than make up a lie from scratch."

"So you _do_ want to see the world burn."

"I want to see _my_ world burn," Hinawa said. "I want to see the Nowhere Islands V-game end entirely."

Ninten frowned. "But why?"

"I'll admit that your compassion for V-game characters is endearing," Hinawa said, "But those characters are still just lines of code. I'm not attached to any of them. And I don't think that the real spirits trapped in the game like me are worth saving, either. Seeing my island fall under pigmask control again and again and _again_ doesn't make me feel alive, Ninten. I think I'm still dying, just more slowly. Eventually, I'll crack like Fassad and Isaac."

 _I'm still dying, just more slowly…_ The words echoed in Ninten's mind, but in a different voice.

"Have you ever talked to Lucas about those feelings?"

Hinawa shot Ninten a wary gaze. "Don't you think it would be a little weird to burden my son with my own insecurities? Besides, Lucas only died a few days ago so I haven't gotten many chances to speak with him." Hinawa paused, and then her eyes lit up. "Oh. You mean he feels the same way that I do. Did he tell you?"

Ninten nodded. "You can always come here, to his Magicant, right? Maybe you can work your feelings out together as the years go by. And I think that Claus might be willing to help as well." Ninten cocked his head. "Although I guess you're always in his Magicant anyway, since the Nowhere Islands V-game is here. Well, you know what I mean."

"Actually," Hinawa said, "It turns out that the V-game isn't in Lucas' Magicant at all."

"Wait." Ninten blinked. "What?"

"Yeah, it's easy to create an output device. Watch."

Hinawa stood up, her red dress swaying in the breeze. She squeezed her eyes shut and reached a hand forward, taking a deep breath. Ninten felt a warmth radiating from Hinawa's hands, the same kind as a pyspace portal, and Hinawa's fingers started to twitch. Moments later, the same dragon-and-islands sprite that Ninten had seen so often back in the sunflower fields popped up into existence above the stairs in front of Hinawa's hand.

"The actual game is being run inside an entirely different Magicant," Hinawa said, "And believe it or not, that's where George is drawing his power from."

"How do you know this?"

"You'll just have to trust me. If you destroy the Nowhere Islands V-game, then George won't be able to hunt you down and arrest you anymore. You can go on living your normal life."

"But won't you and everyone else inside the game go away?"

"The characters inside the V-game certainly will. There's no doubt about that. But they're just lines of code, so I hope that you won't stop to think of them when you could be saving yourself."

Hinawa looked over at Ninten, raising an eyebrow as if daring Ninten to challenge her. Ninten nodded, saying nothing in reply. Better to give as little information away as possible.

"And as for the moderators like us," Hinawa said, "There's a chance that we'll be able to escape by hiding in Lucas' Magicant. We _are_ real people, after all."

"But only a chance," Ninten said, "Because the data that makes up your spirit has to be stored somewhere?"

Hinawa hesitated, and then nodded. "If the data coding our spirits was located inside the V-game, then we would disappear along with the Nowhere Islands game."

"Which seems rather likely. I mean, where else would they store all that data?"

Hinawa shrugged.

"So by blowing up the V-game, I could be killing you and Claus."

"Along with Fassad and Isaac. But remember that we're already dead. I think that we would all appreciate if you ended this farce of an existence we have. I was telling the truth after Lucas pulled the seventh needle, you know. The only way to end the cycle of suffering is to let us die for real."

"I can't accept that."

Hinawa sighed. "I was afraid that you were going to say that."

Ninten walked up to the dragon-and-islands sprite floating in front of Hinawa and ran a finger over the black scales on the dragon's underbelly.

"Even if there's a small chance that you'll all die, I won't let myself destroy the Nowhere Islands V-game. Especially not when Claus is going in there to help me."

"Going in…" Hinawa crossed her arms. "Please don't tell me that Claus is entering the Nowhere Islands V-game with you."

"He did say that it was against the rules, and I tried to stop him. But then Claus asked me if I would go in there to help him if our roles were reversed, and I felt like I had to answer truthfully."

"By the Dark Dragon." Hinawa shook her head, not quite able to mask a smile. "Of course you did. Of course you both said that you'd be there for each other until the sun burns out."

Ninten raised an eyebrow. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Claus was such a sweet boy," Hinawa said, "Always offered to help me carry water up the hill to our house with that sunny little smile on his face. Always asked his father if he could help shear the sheep. Always watched as I spun the wool, looking at the fabric with wide eyes. And in the end, that sweetness was his downfall. After volunteering for the American experiments in Lucas' place, I don't think I ever saw him smile again. When he came back three years later and six inches taller, his posture was so stiff and his eyes were so cold that I was _scared_ of him."

"I'm sorry. Lucas told me the same story."

"Claus was innocent, yet always aware of what other people were thinking and of how to make them feel better. But in the end, his weakness was that he cared too much and tried too hard to be nice. He opened himself up for the world to see, and the Americans took the opportunity to _crush_ him. And I see a bit of that old Claus in you, Ninten."

"Uh… thanks?"

"That wasn't a compliment." Hinawa's eyes narrowed. "It was a warning. If you get a chance to destroy the Nowhere Islands V-game, you need to _let it burn._ Because if you don't, George will hunt you down and break you down the same way that he-the Americans broke down Claus."

The same way that _he_ broke down Claus? Before Hinawa had corrected herself, she was almost implying that Claus being reduced to a shell of his former self was George's fault. At this point, it wouldn't surprised Ninten if George had stuck his grimy little fingers in this whole mess.

"I do know a bit about your past," Hinawa said, "About who you are. I know that you are George's most dangerous tool, but also a failed weapon. I think you're one of the few people who can take him out. He gave you the power that he meant to use for his own ends, but now it's in your hands. Don't waste it just because you're thinking about me or Claus."

"I've never been just his tool," Ninten said. "And I'm going to save the Nowhere Islands again. Claus and I will figure it out together. I'll find some way to keep living, even if I have to dodge the law for the rest of my life."

"They're going to destroy you." Hinawa's gaze turned into a glare. "Do you think I haven't heard these words before? When Claus was packing up to leave for the American military facility, he wiped Lucas' tears away and promised that everything would be okay. He looked me in the eye and said that he would come back and help me bake more omelets. He said that we could forget that he ever left and go back to the way things were. So how do you think it felt when I heard a gunshot one day and ran out of the house to see my own son lying limp on the grass?"

"I'm sorry for what happened to you and Claus," Ninten said. "But I do think he's getting better. At least he has some hope to hold onto."

"He's dead." Hinawa grabbed onto Ninten's wrist. "And if you keep going down this path, you'll die an early death as well."

Ninten sighed, looking out at the ocean, at the waves that went up, down, up, down.

"Thanks for your concern," Ninten said, "But I think I'll be okay."

"No." Hinawa yanked him towards her. "Look me in the eye."

Ninten gulped and stared at Hinawa's iron expression. Her lips tightened as she pulled him even closer.

"You kids are all the same," Hinawa said. "Warn you about the dangers, tell you what happened before, and you still think you're invincible. Tell me something, Ninten. Give me one reason that you'll succeed where Claus failed. What do you have that he doesn't?"

"I have a rich family," Ninten said, "And my family has powerful connections. It would be a shame not to use them."

Hinawa's grip relaxed slightly.

"I know that Claus never stood a chance," Ninten said. "What could one kid do against an entire military squad from one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world? I know that when Lucas journeyed off the pray to the Dark Dragon, he was never going to fix anything. You were all alone on a largely uncharted island, so of course nobody was going to hear you scream. But people might listen to me."

Hinawa pursed her lips. "So you want to be our benefactor."

"I want to do whatever helps," Ninten said. "I know it's not an ideal situation for you, but especially now that Lucas is dead you'll need help from Americans to spread the word of what's happening on the Nowhere Islands. I promise that most of us are just regular people."

"I didn't mean it like that." Hinawa shook her head. "It's just… you're a good boy, Ninten. You should pretend that this whole mess never happened to you. Let it burn, and move on."

"I'm sorry, but that's the one thing I can't do." Ninten placed a hand on top of the dragon-and-islands sprite. "I'll try to make sure Claus has a friend in the years to come. I'll try to be here for you and Lucas as well, if you ever need anything from me. And I'm going to save the Nowhere Islands again."

Hinawa's body tensed, and Ninten braced himself from tightening his grip on the dragon-and-islands sprite that Hinawa had created. No matter what she said or did, he wouldn't let her tear him away from another chance to help the people inside of the V-game.

But insteads of lunging or shouting at Ninten, Hinawa started chuckling. She sat down on the steps and looked up at the cloudless sky, squinting her eyes as she basked in the sunlight.

"I guess the choice is yours to make, and if I really can't stop you I shouldn't waste any more of your time," Hinawa said. "Although trying to save the Nowhere Islands again is quite ill-advised."

"I know."

"But you're still going in to try and protect a world with no hope."

"I am."

Hinawa smiled. "Best of luck, then. You'll need a miracle to save the world while still weakening the power that George draws from the V-game, but if anyone can bring us a happy ending, it's you."

Ninten relaxed his grip on the dragon-and-islands sprite. "Thanks."

Hinawa's expression turned concerned. "And take care of Claus, all right? He's still my baby boy."

"I think," Ninten said, "That we'll both be taking care of each other."

As Ninten poured his consciousness into the V-game sprite, the last thing he saw was Hinawa waving goodbye to him.

* * *

Alone. Black. Empty. Consciousness floating in space.

Again.

And then, as if nothing had changed from his first few playthroughs, white words started appearing inside the emptiness, transmitted directly to Ninten's mind for him to read, before fading away into the black.

NINTEN? WHAT WOULD POSSIBLY MOTIVATE YOU TO COME BACK?

…

YOU KNOW THAT HINAWA DELIVERED ALL OF THESE LITTLE MESSAGES TO YOU, RIGHT?

THIS ISN'T HER.

…

GO AWAY.

THERE'S NOTHING LEFT FOR YOU HERE.

IF YOU WILL YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS OUT OF THE GAME, IT WILL TAKE YOU BACK TO LUCAS' PSYSPACE.

I'LL GIVE YOU SOME TIME TO TRY IT OUT.

…

…

…

NINTEN?

PLEASE DON'T TELL ME THAT YOU ACTUALLY MEAN TO GO BACK INTO THE WORLD OF THE NOWHERE ISLANDS.

…

OH.

HINAWA MUST HAVE TOLD YOU.

BUT YOU DON'T HAVE THE POWER TO DESTROY THE WORLD. YOU CAN WATCH IT BURN AGAIN AND AGAIN, BUT THIS PLANET WILL NEVER TRULY DIE.

THAT IS ITS CURSE.

…

IT'S HOPELESS.

THE COPS ARE CHASING YOU, NINTEN.

RUN.

RUN FAR AWAY, WHERE NOBODY WILL EVER FIND YOU.

GET YOUR PARENTS TO HIDE YOU AWAY. YOU STILL HAVE A WHOLE LIFE AHEAD OF YOU.

…

FINE.

I GUESS IT'S EASIER TO KILL YOU MYSELF AND SEND YOU BACK TO LUCAS' MAGICANT.

LET'S PICK UP RIGHT WHERE YOU LEFT OFF SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED WHEN LUCAS PULLED THE FINAL NEEDLE.

I'M DOING THIS SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE ARE SOME WORLDS THAT CAN'T BE SAVED. DEATH AND DESTRUCTION WOULD BE A MERCY FOR THE NOWHERE ISLANDS, BUT THIS WORLD CAN ONLY DIE IN OUR MINDS.

IT CAN ONLY DIE IF WE RUN AWAY AND FORGET.

THAT'S WHAT I DID, AT LEAST.

BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING THAT YOU CAN DO TO GIVE THE NOWHERE ISLANDS A HAPPY ENDING.

NOTHING AT ALL.

* * *

The world materialized around Ninten. The first thing that he saw was Lucas' body lying limp on the ground while Kumatora stood over him with a worried look on her face. The walls and floor glowed with a hazy purple light, illuminating Kuma's pink hair while leaving the rest of the scene under a dull filter.

Back in the cave of the Dark Dragon, then.

Ninten looked over to see Claus' body lying on the floor, laser sword sheathed and pigmask helmet off. While Lucas' body looked several years younger than the real-life Lucas, Claus in the game looked the exact same as the boy Ninten had been chatting with just minutes earlier.

But this Claus was dead. He had died for Ninten.

Ninten reached down to his chest and felt over the smooth stone of the Franklin badge.

 _Nin…ten…?_

Ninten blinked. Cave ambiance, perhaps?

 _Can you… hear me…?_

Ninten looked around for the direction of the sound. He turned towards Kumatora after hearing her gasp. Lucas' body twitched once, twice, and then his eyes opened. Kumatora reached out with a shaky as Lucas brought himself to his feet. Lucas looked at Kumatora, and then Ninten.

"Lucas," Kumatora said, rushing forward. "Are you okay? Did you pass your heart onto the Dark Dragon?"

Lucas flashed a sad smile at Ninten and started to draw in PSI power. The coldness in his blue eyes couldn't possibly belong to Lucas.

Ninten's heart skipped a beat. He let out a shout and ran forward.

Lucas shook his head and turned back to Kumatora. "PK Love Ω."


	19. Pain or Emptiness

**Hey, everyone. :)**

 **I actually don't have too much to say, so I'll leave you guys alone for once. Have a great day and I hope that you enjoy the chapter! :)**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Tofu and Kame no Ketsu:** I'll get back to you in PM since I don't know if you'll see this chapter soon.

 **Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf:** Aw, thanks! :3 And yes, I definitely remember you. :D I'm glad that my plot twists seem to be coming out all right, and we may even have some more in this chapter. Well, depending on what you count as a plot twist, I guess.

Oh, and there may be another cliffhanger as well. *Runs away and hides*

* * *

As Lucas emitted a blast of blue light, the earth trembled.

The wave of light washed over Ninten, advancing through the cave with the shape of little blue hexagons. Ninten's vision flashed with pain when the energy reached him, and he had to grab onto a stray rock to stay standing.

After patching up his wounds with Lifeup, Ninten looked up to see Kumatora's body lying on the ground several paces away. With a grunt, she got up to her feet and regarded Lucas with a wary expression. The ground's glow had dimmed around the area where Lucas stood, leaving him shrouded as a silhouette.

"Lucas," Kumatora said. "I don't understand. Why are you-"

"Lucas passed his heart onto the Dark Dragon," the silhouette said, advancing towards Kumatora, "And the Dark Dragon passed her heart onto him. So now you're stuck with me."

Lucas darted towards Kumatora, who hissed and set up a line of flames between the two of them. Lucas leapt through the flames, his face glowing in the firelight. He ran towards Kumatora with lips drawn tight and ice-cold eyes. Ninten rushed forward to intercept him, but Lucas wove past both him and Kumatora.

Ninten grunted. Help Kuma now, worry about the madman later.

"Lifeup γ," Ninten said, running up to Kumatora and placing a hand on her shoulder.

Kumatora jerked away, and then turned around to see Ninten's face. She offered a nod of appreciation and then turned back towards Lucas, who now stood over Claus' corpse.

 _No, no, no…_ said a voice in Ninten's mind. _This is all wrong…_

Ninten winced. He didn't know where the words in his head was coming from, but he couldn't let them distract him.

Lucas bent down next to Claus' corpse and picked up the plasma sword. Lucas activated the blade, sending an orange beam out of the hilt. Lucas held the glowing weapon in front of him, and looked at Ninten with a cold smile.

"It doesn't surprise me, Ninten," Lucas said, "That you would choose to help a piece of code with Lifeup rather than trying to stop me."

" _What_ did you just call me?" Kumatora said, taking a step forward.

"A thin projection of what was," Lucas said. "Nothing more than a reminder of a painful past."

Kumatora extended a hand outward. "PK Freeze γ."

Ice started to form around Lucas' body, but it melted when Lucas waved the plasma sword around his body.

"You know that she's not real, Ninten," Lucas said. "Let go."

 _Must… hold… on…_

The voice in Ninten's mind sounded so distant.

"What's he talking about?" Kumatora said.

"I don't know," Ninten lied, "But can we really fight Lucas?"

"You must have bigger problems than facing the world of the Nowhere Islands," Lucas said. "Shouldn't you be running away yourself?"

Ninten flinched. There was no way that this Lucas could possibly know about his run-in with George.

 _Another… moderator…_

Huh? Ninten didn't think that there were any more of those people like Claus and Hinawa who regulated the V-game from outside.

 _Shouldn't… be…_

"Considering that you've already tried to harm someone I care about," Ninten said, "I don't think that I'll be taking any of your suggestions."

"But can you really bring yourself to fight me?" Lucas said. "If I die, your friend's heart stays stuck in the Dark Dragon forever. You know, since you probably care about _that_ piece of code as well."

"We can at least rough him up a little, right?" Kumatora said. "If we stall enough time, maybe Lucas' heart will help the Dark Dragon create a new world for us."

 _Lies…_

Hmm? What was a lie, now?

 _A happy ending. It will never happen. The Dark Dragon never existed…_

Never existed, huh? So the whole "pulling the seven needles to awaken the Dark Dragon" must have been some sort of ploy.

"Ninten." Kumatora elbowed Ninten's arm.

"Aah." Ninten rubbed his arm and looked over at Lucas. "Uh, I don't know as much as you, probably."

 _Stalling won't save you. Lucas is gone…_

"Let's fight, then," Kumatora said, cracking her knuckles.

"Lucas," Ninten said. "Is there any way we could come to sort of a peaceful resolution?"

 _Gone…_

"If you leave Lucas' Magicant and never come back, I won't fight the rest of these mirages that you seem so fond of," Lucas said.

Well, Lucas _couldn't_ really fight the people in the game if nobody was playing it. At least, that was how most V-games worked. So if Ninten packed up and left right now, the people inside the Nowhere Islands V-game would never have to suffer again.

He was starting to understand why the game's introduction had told him that the only way to stop the cycle of suffering was to let the Nowhere Islands die, at least in his memory.

Ninten took a deep breath.

"That's right," Lucas said, his eyes narrowing. "Every time you enter this world, more people suffer. Every time you try to save the Nowhere Islands, you risk more lives. At what point does it become better to treat these people as the lifeless creations that they are? Just walk away, Ninten, and leave them in oblivion. The dead cannot feel pain."

Ninten gulped. Only now did he understand why whoever was controlling Lucas now insisted that Kumatora was just a piece of code. Ninten had assumed that the person possessing Lucas saw the Nowhere Islanders as mere tools because he had power to kill them and reset the game.

That wasn't it. Lucas' possessor dismissed the people within the V-game as bits of code to protect his own sanity. Because if he saw them as people, he might get attached to them like Ninten.

And if he got attached to them, he would have to suffer the heartbreak of watching them die again and again.

"I…" The back of Ninten's throat went dry. "I don't know if I can do that."

Lucas sighed. "I guess I'll make my decision for you, then. Just don't come back after I give you a game over screen unless you want to see Kumatora's despair a second time."

Lucas lunged towards Ninten and Kumatora. His plasma sword became a blur as he darted in between the two of them, and his expression remained neutral. Only his eyes showed any emotion, a twinge of sorrow within his blue irises.

Ninten reeled back and patched himself with Lifeup before lashing out with his foot towards Lucas. Kumatora barreled down on Lucas with her fists as well, and yet somehow Lucas managed to dodge every attack. The next sweep of Lucas' plasma sword sent Ninten and Kumatora stumbling back.

"Let go," Lucas said, "Or forever struggle against a current that you cannot control. The Nowhere Islands is not for you. It is not for anyone."

Ninten grunted, healed himself, and looked around for a weapon. Around the area where the last needle had been pulled, Ninten's eyes locked onto a baseball bat. Well, better than nothing.

"I've played through the game myself," Lucas said. "Again and again and _again._ Nothing changes. Some tragedies burn scars in our minds far too deep to heal."

Ninten ran over and scooped up the baseball bat. He glanced over to see Kumatora dueling Lucas.

Well, "dueling" was a bit generous. Kumatora attacked with a flurry of punches, barely hitting any, while Lucas sliced at her with precise strokes. Ninten couldn't see health bars above either one, but Kumatora was slouching and panting before Lucas had even broken a sweat.

Ninten darted forward to assist Kumatora, and the corner of Lucas' lips twitched upwards to form a smile. Lucas swung his plasma sword in wide arcs, forcing Ninten back. Ninten took some of the hits with his body rather than his baseball bat. Better to skirmish and heal up later than let Lucas slice apart his only weapon.

And indeed, as Ninten leapt backwards away from Lucas' plasma sword Kumatora lunged in and slammed her fist into the back of Lucas' head. As Lucas grunted and stumbled forward, Ninten advanced and slammed his baseball bat into Lucas.

Just like hitting a baseball.

Lucas laughed, reeling backwards. "I suppose I shouldn't be taking joy in this, but at least the thrill is _something._ "

Ninten narrowed his eyes. Was Lucas laughing drunk at thrill of battle? Or taking joy in the thrill of pain?

 _You can't beat him,_ the voice in Ninten's mind spoke, clearer now. _You'll never be able to beat him on your own._

Thanks for the vote of confidence, strange voice.

Ninten circled back around the other side of Lucas, tossing out kicks and baseball bat swings when Kumatora darted forward with her fists. Lucas hadn't given them another chance to get in, and kept landing more and more blows on Kumatora and Ninten. Unfortunately, while Ninten did see Kumatora healing herself with Lifeup every time she backed away from Lucas, he also spotted cuts and bruises lining up on her body.

Ninten hadn't ever seen someone bleed before in the Nowhere Islands V-game. Her health must be running low.

When Ninten circled around to the same side as Kumatora to heal her, Lucas made the aggressive choice to dart in, slashing at both Ninten and Kumatora with each sweep. After Ninten placed a shoulder on Kumatora to heal her, she glared and gestured at the area behind Lucas.

Don't worry about me, her expression said. Just flank him.

Ninten gulped, and circled back around behind Lucas. If they kept up at this rate, Kumatora wouldn't last much longer.

 _I can help,_ the voice within Ninten's mind said. _Just give me control._

Control? Over what?

 _Your body, of course._

A chill ran down Ninten's spine. He resolved to keep swinging at Lucas with his baseball bat and running out of the way of plasma sword swings. Each time the glowing orange blade passed by Ninten, the light from the sword lit up Lucas face. As the battle drew on, Lucas' expression looked sad, and then resigned. His shoulders slouched, and he looked away as he kicked Kumatora to the ground and held the plasma sword up to her throat.

Looked away from Kumatora, that was, and then glanced over at Ninten. He flashed a sad smile.

"Ninten," Lucas said. "Just leave. Run away from George and pretend that you never found this place."

Kumatora scrambled backwards until Lucas shoved his plasma sword closer to her neck. Kumatora let out a yelp.

"You can choose to cure all of this hurt right now," Lucas said. "You can end the cycle of suffering if you just get up and walk away."

Ninten took a step back. Maybe Lucas had a point. Every time Ninten entered the V-game, he had seen nothing but pain. Lucas, Claus, and Kumatora hadn't suffered _because_ of him, of course, but if he had never discovered the V-game then they wouldn't have ever needed to hurt.

If Ninten did really care about the people in the V-game, maybe the best way to help them was to turn around and walk away.

 _Just let me take control._

And within the game, it seemed like Ninten himself was going mad. Could he really trust any of his own thoughts and decisions? Maybe he should just leave the Nowhere Islands and regroup back in Lucas' Magicant.

Hopefully the madness wouldn't follow him there.

"Ninten," Kumatora choked out. "Save… yourself."

Lucas shrugged. "You heard her yourself. The fact that you've been sticking your nose in this game is exactly why people like Kumatora are suffering. She already died once because of you, Ninten."

"She died because of the pigma-"

"She died becacuse of _you._ " Lucas' gaze turned to steel. "You brought her to life by booting up the game. She talked with you, believed in you, trusted you. And you weren't powerful enough to save her."

"Go!" Kumatora shouted, haunted eyes staring at Ninten.

"Am I the bad guy?" Lucas said. "Of course. But what's the best way to stop me? Even if you somehow manage to kill me, I can always load up an old save file and harm Kumatora again in the exact same way. But if you leave this game behind for good," Lucas' voice dropped to a whisper, "Then you stop me from hurting Kumatora and Lucas ever again."

"I…" Ninten looked over at Kumatora.

"Go," Kumatora said. _"Please."_

Although Ninten hated to admit it, Lucas had a point. Replaying the same tragedies over and over again in hopes of somehow creating a better world would just create more pain. Maybe heroism had its place somewhere, but after going into the Nowhere Islands V-game a half-dozen times now Ninten had to look at the results.

He had only created more pain for everyone.

And even Kumatora wanted him to go. She only saw a way for Ninten to save himself, and she still saw the futility in fighting back against whoever was possessing Lucas. If Ninten could save Kumatora too by running away, then he really had no excuse for trying to push through his own challenges.

Staying would only continue the cycle of suffering.

"Okay," Ninten said. "I guess I don't really have a choice, do I? I'll go."

Lucas smiled, and took the tip of his plamsa sword away from Kumatora's throat.

"I'm sorry, Kumatora," Ninten said, "For letting you die once. I won't make you suffer the same fate again."

"What the _fuck_ are you talking about?" Kumatora scampered away from Lucas' plasma sword. "Ninten, are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay." Ninten looked up at the ceiling. "I've never been okay. You'll be better off without me around to torment you."

Ninten took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and started to let his consciousness leave the V-game.

 _Oh no you don't._

That voice again…

 _I hate to be so forceful, but I can't stand by and let this happen._

The next moment, Ninten lost control of his own body.

The whole world went black.

(ILH)

Ninten stood on a circular platform of marble that floated in the darkness. Along the center of the platform ran a lightning bolt engraved into the ground, colored yellow.

And at the other end of the marble circle stood Claus.

"Listen," Claus said, "I know that the person controlling Lucas makes some good points, but you're thinking about it the wrong way. What's his motive?"

Ninten blinked, and then looked around at the emptiness.

"What happened to me?" Ninten said. "Where are we?"

Claus sighed. "He's clearly trying to manipulate you. He's scared of you finding out something about the Nowhere Islands that would let you beat George. So until you recover from what he said to you, I'm going to be driving your body for a while."

"I don't… how?"

Claus waved goodbye and vanished from sight.

"Claus?"

No response.

"Claus!"

Silence.

Ninten sighed, walking into the center of the marble platform. A lightning bolt, huh? This place must represent the Franklin Badge.

Wait a minute. Was Ninten _inside_ of the Franklin Badge?

After a few moments, colors started to swirl in the surrounding emptiness. The colors eventually formed into objects. A rock. A hand.

A blond-haired boy wielding a plasma sword.

Around the image of Lucas, the rest of the cave formed into place. Ninten walked to the edge of the platform and looked out to see Kumatora and circling around Lucas. Ninten saw the baseball bat that he had been carrying fly in front of his vision, landing with a _crack_ on Lucas' head.

The images in front of him had to be what his body was actually seeing. Getting a first-person view of his own perspective made him feel an odd disconnect with his own body.

And it felt even odder when Ninten's body moved around all on its own.

Ninten frowned. Claus said that he had would "drive" Ninten's body for a while. He must be the one strafing around and swinging around the baseball bat, then. He hit three out of his first five swings, so maybe he should be the one fighting Lucas instead of Ninten anyway.

Ninten looked over at Kumatora. She grimaced whenever Lucas' plasma sword struck her, and the cuts and bruises on her body started to add up.

This was all Ninten's fault.

"Claus?" Ninten said. "Claus, you have to stop."

A pause.

"Claus," Ninten yelled. "Can you hear me?"

 _Yes, so you don't have to shout._

The message came as an echo in Ninten's mind, similar as the voice that had been speaking to Ninten while he had fought Lucas.

"You were the voice sending me messages back then," Ninten said.

 _Bravo, genius._

"And now I'm the voice sending messages to you."

Lucas' plasma sword slammed into the side of Ninten's body. Sparks flew off of the blade, and the image in front of Ninten blinked red for a moment.

 _A distracting voice, but yeah._

"Claus, don't you see how we're hurting Kumatora?"

 _That's what the person controlling Lucas wants us to think._

"But-"

 _Listen. I don't want you to stop caring about other people, But someone has to see that Lucas' possessor was playing you like a damn grass whistle._

"We don't stand a chance against him. He'll kill Kumatora and then us if we don't leave."

 _If he were really as powerful as he claimed, why would he need to scare you away?_

Ninten blinked. Not a bad point.

 _There must be something we're missing. Try to think of something while I keep us alive, all right?_

Ninten watched his body dart back and forth out of the way of Lucas' plasma sword. Even when Lucas swung his blade so quickly that it didn't look physically possible to dodge, Ninten's body somehow managed to twist away from the plasma.

Damn, Claus was good.

All right, Ninten. Focus. Maybe the first step to figuring out how to defeat Lucas was understanding what in the world was going on.

"Claus," he said. "How did you get inside of the Franklin Badge in the first place?"

 _Beats me. I tried to come in as a replacement for Claus inside the game, and I don't know why it put me in here._

Well, Claus inside the game was dead at this point, so the V-game just… stuck him inside of the Franklin Badge because it didn't know what else to do? That didn't make a whole lot of sense.

Unless…

"The Claus in the game killed himself by reflecting lightning off the Franklin Badge so that it hit him," Ninten said. "Do you think that he could have transferred his consciousness into the Franklin Badge as he was blasting lightning at it?"

 _Where did this come from?_

"Well, it would explain why you ended up inside of the Franklin Badge to begin with. Maybe you _did_ replace the Claus inside the game, and ended up here in his place."

Ninten saw his body get hit by another stroke of Lucas' plasma sword, and the view from outside his body flashed red.

 _I guess it's possible,_ Claus sent. _But why does it matter?_

"Well, it seems like the Franklin Badge is something of a spirit conduit in addition to being a device to reflect lightning."

 _Meaning…?_

"You possessed my body and forced my consciousness into the Franklin Badge."

 _Duh._

"But it wasn't any power of yours that allows you to do that. The Franklin Badge seems designed to transfer spirits to other bodies."

 _I suppose._

"So I could just possess you right now and take my body back if I wanted to."

 _…_

"Claus?"

 _I'm not letting you run away from this. Together, we'll find out a way to drain away the power that George is drawing from this V-game._

"But you really couldn't stop me if I forced you back into the Franklin Badge and tossed it away."

 _Ninten, don't do this._

Ninten heard Kumatora cry out in pain. He looked up at the first-person view in front of him and saw her stumble to the ground, gripping a line of charred flesh on her thigh. Lucas grinned and stood over her with his plasma sword.

"I can't let Kumatora hurt."

Ninten watched his body dart in and slam the baseball bat into Lucas' side as Kumatora scrambled to get back up to her feet.

"Just look at her, Claus."

Kumatora grimaced. Tears started to run down her cheeks.

"She's at her limit."

 _Watch._

As Claus used Ninten's body to drive Lucas back, Kumatora took a deep breath and cracked her knuckles. When she finished, she was still grimacing, still crying, but the fire in her eyes caught Ninten's breath. She let out a roar and lunged forward, slamming her fist into the back of Lucas' head.

 _Pain is driving her forward, Ninten._

"But is that a good thing?"

 _Kumatora's suffering because we entered this world. But isn't that better than not existing at all?_

"I'm not sure. That's pretty philosophical."

 _Would you choose pain over emptiness, Ninten?_

Ninten took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

He remembered the days spent staring out of the window, when even the cloudless skies seemed too grey.

He remembered the days spent curled up in his bed. Even if the house caught on fire and started burning down around him, Ninten wouldn't have the willpower to drag himself out from under the covers.

He remembered days spent listening to Ana's laugh, wondering how it could all sound so _hollow._

He remembered days spent locked alone in his room. In those moments, he had known that he was worthless. The path forward was clearer than it had ever been before.

He had nothing to live for.

Life was empty, vast, meaningless.

He should kill himself.

Ninten opened his eyes, returning to the present. Sometimes, those days still loomed over him like a storm cloud.

He wouldn't let the emptiness control him again.

"I would pick the pain in a heartbeat," Ninten whispered. "Having something is always better than it's nothing. Even if it's sorrow. Even if it's pain."

 _Then give the people of the Nowhere Islands the same benefit. We want to be remembered, even if those memories hurt._

Ninten bit his lip and nodded to himself. It made sense, of course, that he couldn't possibly wipe out every semblance of suffering in the Nowhere Islands. People, in Tazmily or elsewhere, would always hurt. It was just part of life.

So maybe Ninten had misunderstood what he was supposed to do on the Nowhere Islands. Maybe he should have focused less on the _suffering_ and more on the _cycle._

Because really, what was the "cycle" that was causing all this pain?

"You know, Claus, I've heard the story of the Nowhere Islands before."

 _Really?_

"Not the specifics, of course, but the general story. The strong prey on the weak. It's a tale as old as time."

 _I'd say our circumstances are a bit more specific than that._

"Oh, of course. But the important part is that before entering the V-game, I didn't know about the Nowhere Islands. Nobody did."

 _Did you expect your own government to tell you what they did to us?_

"I couldn't expect anything since I just _didn't know._ I know now that people on the Nowhere Islands are hurting, but I still can't hear them if they scream. That's what makes the suffering a cycle, Claus. The same tragedies repeat themselves again and again, but we can't stop them since most of us don't even know that they exist."

Ninten looked up at the empty space that displayed the view outside of his body. From the first person view, Ninten could see Kumatora bleeding from a dozen wounds, struggling to stand up as Lucas stood over her with weapon in hand.

"I've seen people suffer in the Nowhere Islands before," Ninten said.

He watched as Lucas drove his plasma sword through Kumatora's chest.

"I'm seeing people suffer in the Nowhere Islands now."

Kumatora crumpled and fell to the cave floor.

"And if I run away now…"

Lucas looked back towards Ninten, his face glowing in the light emitted by his blade.

"I'll only be condemning the people of the Nowhere Islands to suffer again."

 _Ninten,_ Claus sent. _Are you doing all right?_

Ninten looked over at Kumatora's limp body. If nobody remembered her pain, then nobody would know how to stop it in the future. Besides, Kumatora would have wanted to go down fighting. And in a way, Ninten could empathize.

Better to hurt than to fade away from memory entirely.

"To stop the cycle of suffering," Ninten said, "I need to remember the pain."

 _If you want to take control of your body again, just force your consciousness out of the Franklin Badge. If you want to avenge Kumatora then I won't try and stop you._

Avenge her? Ninten could do better.

"Tear the Franklin Badge off," Ninten said, "And throw it a Lucas."

 _Are you sure?_

"No. Do it anyway."

For a moment, the world fell still.

 _All right,_ Claus sent. _I trust you._

The world went black around Ninten, leaving him alone on the floating platform of marble.

"Claus?"

No response. Once Claus pulled the badge off, it made sense that Ninten wouldn't be able to communicate with him anymore.

"All right, then," Ninten said to himself. "Showtime."

Ninten took a breath and readied himself to leap into action the moment the Franklin Badge hit Lucas.

"I can't let the same tragedies play out again and again," he said. "Someone has to understand the suffering so that we can stop the cycle."

For a moment, the world around Ninten flashed with color. In front of him, from a first person view, he could see the floor glowing a dull purple. Ninten could see his own body, eyes narrowed and baseball bat held in a defensive position.

He could see the world from Lucas' perspective.

The Franklin Badge must be touching Lucas.

The Franklin Badge must be _connected_ with Lucas.

Ninten forced his consciousness outwards into Lucas' body.

(ILH)

Ninten stood on a seaside deck made of wet, rotting wood. He looked down and saw waves crashing below the deck. A gust of air rushed over him, smelling of salt.

Ninten's heart skipped a beat. He had been in this psyspace before.

He knew who it belonged to.

"George," Ninten said. "It was you all along. _You're_ the person in the game possessing Lucas from here in your own psyspace."

"Oh, wouldn't that make everything so much easier?"

Ninten whirled around to see a short Korean woman in her thirties wearing a black, Victorian-style dress. She regarded Ninten with a sad smile.

Ninten blinked.

No.

This couldn't be happening.

"It's such a shame," Mary said, "That you didn't run away and live the rest of your life in ignorance when you still had the chance."


	20. An Ancient Promise

**Hello, everyone. :) Connor here with another update. I ended up cutting and heavily editing a lot of this chapter, and the final product is about a thousand words less than my rough draft. I felt like Mary's character wasn't really working in the first draft, so I changed it up a lot during my edits. I think that she's a more interesting character when she's a bit more fragile and compassionate than I originally had her.**

 **And I don't actually have too much else to say. Have a great day! :D**

* * *

"Grandma?" Ninten said.

Mary's presence didn't make any sense. The only way for Ninten to be seeing Mary inside of her Magicant now is if she were the one controlling Lucas. But Mary wouldn't do that. She wouldn't possess an innocent boy like Lucas. She wouldn't kill an innocent girl like Kumatora.

And she wouldn't be telling Ninten to run away from her right now.

Mary walked up to Ninten by the edge of the deck and put her hands on the wet railing, gazing out into the ocean. After staring for a couple of seconds, she looked over at him and smiled.

"Nevertheless," Mary said, "It's nice to see you, Ninten. Thank you for figuring out what happened to Lucas for me. I'm sorry that you had to go through so much pain only to find out that he had already passed on."

"I didn't mind," Ninten said, narrowing his eyes.

Mary nodded. "I never could have imagined, of course, the truth about what Lucas did. I honestly wanted you to keep an eye out for him in case you two happened to pass by. I had no intention of getting you tangled up in this mess. And George tells me that you figured out why I couldn't go out there and look for him myself."

Ninten drew a sharp breath.

"But you know," Mary said, "Being dead doesn't feel so much different from being alive in most other ways. Still, I hope that it's a long time before you have to think about what to do with your own consciousness after your life on this earth runs out."

"I've already been considering my options."

"Because of George?" Mary stared back out at the ocean. "I can try to reason with him."

"Since when has he ever listened to you?"

"I… guess you have a point." Mary sighed. "And I suppose that I shouldn't keep feeding you lies. We've both gone too far for that. So you're right, I don't think I'll be able to sway George's judgment. I can get one of the school administrators to send a data file explaining the situation to your parents. You'll need one hell of a lawyer to take on my husband's trumped up charges."

"Thanks."

Ninten studied Mary. Why had she wanted him to run away from the Nowhere Islands V-game? She was clearly connected to the V-game somehow, but there must be some deeper secret that she was still hiding.

"And because I swear to tell you the truth from this moment forward," Mary said, "I can say that I love you from the bottom of my heart. When I'm stuck here alone without any visitors for days, I always think back to the way we would talk together and share laughs behind George's back. I'll always hold those memories close."

Ninten nodded. The sincerity in those words couldn't possibly be faked. Any doubts Ninten had about the person in front of him being the real Mary faded away in that moment.

Which meant that his great-grandmother had possessed Lucas and killed Kumatora.

"But I'm sure that you're about to explode if you keep holding your questions in," Mary said with a smile. "So ask away. I'll answer anything."

"And you'll give me the full answers?" Ninten said.

"I will."

Ninten walked up to the railing next to Mary and stared out at the sea. He focused on one small area of water and watched as it bobbed up, down, up, down, shimmering in the sunlight.

Maybe it would be easier if he didn't have to look Mary in the eye.

"Are you going to keep fighting me?" Ninten said.

"Oh, I hope not. I don't want to make you suffer any more than you already have. But if you keep trying to find a way to stop George from within the V-game then I'll have to show you the way out. It's a pointless endeavor."

"So we're still within the V-game?"

"Yes. This little deck here exists as part of my psyspace, which George trapped inside of this V-game. When you tried to enter Lucas' body through use of the Franklin Badge, I used a special PSI technique to remain inside of his body as well. That's why we're meeting here in my psyspace."

Ninten gripped the wet railing. Too many follow-up points to question.

"So we're both technically inside Lucas' body right now?" he said.

"Right. And since both of us are inside, the game freaked out and sent both of us to my psyspace. If Claus uses your in-game body to kill Lucas', then we'll both be sent outside of the V-game."

Which could happen at any moment. Ninten took a deep breath.

"How did George trap you inside of the V-game?" Ninten said. "If I knew that he was holding you in a cage this whole time, I would have started shouting at him years ago."

"I can fault my husband for many things," Mary said, "But locking me away inside this game isn't one of them."

Ninten looked away from the ocean to see Mary staring down at the damp wood of the deck. She gave Ninten a slight head shake as her dress rustled in the ocean breeze.

"In fact," Mary said, "You're the only reason that he keeps me around. I'm sure you know that he tries to use me to influence you."

Ninten continued to stare at Mary. She released a sigh and walked away from the ocean towards one of the tables on the deck.

"Why don't you come over here and sit down?" Mary said. "We've been doing a lot of standing and running around."

Ninten pictured Lucas' plasma sword lighting up the air, revealing the glint of sadness in his icy eyes as he swung the blade down towards Ninten.

It was hard to think of his great-grandmother as the same person who tried to kill him.

Ninten walked over to one of the tables under an overhang. The wood of the chairs didn't look curled, and he placed his hand on the seat to find it smooth and dry. On the table was a piece of white paper with some scribbles on it. Ninten looked over at Mary, and she motioned for him to take a seat. As Ninten slid into the chair, he studied the paper.

The scribbles on the page seemed to depict a giraffe, albeit a messy one. Once Ninten heard the sound of Mary sliding out a chair across from him, he looked up to see her sitting down and gazing at the paper.

"Do you know who drew that picture, Ninten?" Mary said.

"It must be a child." Ninten frowned. "I couldn't call these scribbles abstract or modernist. They're just… bad."

"Well, I thought it was sweet," Mary said, "Especially since you were the one who drew it for me."

Ninten looked back down at the scribbles on the paper. He _had_ liked to draw animals like zebras and giraffes as a child, so he supposed it wouldn't be impossible.

"Well, at least I can say my drawing skills have improved a bit over the past dozen years," Ninten said.

"If you ever become a parent, Ninten, you'll find that the quality of your children's artwork doesn't mean much. You gave me this picture because you thought I would like it. It meant the world to me."

Okay. Fair enough.

"In fact," Mary said, "It was what convinced me not to kill you."

A chill ran down Ninten's spine.

"I never thought I'd be telling you this," Mary said, "And I'm sorry that you have to find out the truth. But I did promise that I wouldn't lie to you any longer. Maybe if you know what actually happened, you'll see why the only way to stop the cycle of suffering is to walk away."

"Tell me," Ninten said, leaning forward, "Why you wanted to kill me."

"Another promise," Mary said. "One that tore me up inside. I saw the world rip itself apart during World War II. George and I spent much of our time in Korea like I told you, but we discovered teleportation during the war and tried to assist in the war efforts across the world. And sometimes, that meant undercover operations in Axis-occupied territories. Since I was better at languages than George, I gathered information in Europe while he went to Japan."

"Did the Allied governments believe that you could use PSI?" Ninten said.

"We never told them. Not because we were worried that they wouldn't believe us, but because we were worried that they _would._ With the Japanese internment camps in America, the British occupation of India, and the Gulag camps in Russia, we didn't want to give any of the Allied governments the ability to oppress more people with PSI. So George and I worked alone, the two of us against the world."

Mary took a deep breath.

"And then I stumbled across a holocaust camp in Poland," she said. "I think that was when I realized exactly what we were fighting against. Not a person or a country, but a system so dark and vile that it took me years to come to terms with. Even decades later, I would still have dreams about the sea of haggard faces that I saw. Sometimes when I close my eyes, I can still hear the screams."

"What does this have to do with me?" Ninten said.

"Of course, George found similar atrocities when he visited Japan and the Pacific Islands. It got so bad that we didn't see Korea—or each other—for years at a time. So by the time the war was over, we couldn't do anything to stop the country we loved from tearing itself apart. Both of us watched Seoul fall to the communists in person. More blood. More screams. It seemed like the pain would never stop."

"Like a cycle of suffering," Ninten said.

Mary flashed a weak smile. "Right. We both dealt with it in our own ways. George swore that he would kill every last communist on the face of the planet. He fought in the Korean War and used PK attacks to slaughter thousands of North Korean soldiers. I think that the Americans were confused, but they weren't going to question any force that got rid of communists."

Ninten nodded. Not entirely surprising, given George.

"And you?" Ninten whispered.

"I…" Mary looked off into the distance. "I made a promise that I would do whatever it took to prevent World War III. The world was groaning under the weight of our sins, and I knew it couldn't take much more. So I devoted my life to politics and tried to topple communist governments without creating large-scale wars. I did terrible things in pursuit of an eventual peace, and I don't think that the world will ever forgive me for what I have done. Yet I needed to keep going, and I transferred my consciousness to my psyspace so that my influence would live on. But that was only half of the plan?"

Ninten frowned. What else would Mary need to do in order to live forever?

"When you're here," Ninten said, "Can you contact the outside world at all?"

Mary shook her head. "Someone else has to come into my psyspace for me to talk with them. George has some of the school administrators check on us every day."

"So you needed a way to access the real world by yourself," Ninten said. "That was the other half of the plan. And it somehow involves my death."

"I…" Mary looked away. "It was a stupid idea to begin with. I can't believe I thought it would work."

A way for Mary to get outside into the real world… it just didn't seem possible for someone whose body had already died. Sure, she could exist as data inside of a psyspace, but Mary would need a body to go out into the real world.

Wait.

She needed a body…

No _fucking_ way.

"The Franklin Badge," Ninten said. "It exists in real life."

"There's nothing by that name," Mary said. "But…"

"But you were developing a way to channel spirits into another person's body. Just like the Franklin Badge could do."

Mary looked up at Ninten, her eyes glistening with tears.

"You planned," Ninten said, "To channel your spirit into _my_ body so that you could live on inside of my body."

"Ninten," Mary said. "I am sorrier than I can express. I can't believe that I would ever even _think_ of harming you like that."

"That's why I was adopted and brought into your family," Ninten said. "George wasn't trying to use me for my natural PSI talents. You were."

Mary hung her head in what must have been shame.

"I bet I made the perfect vessel," Ninten said. "White. Male. Powerful PSI. Someone who would be respected. The asthma would be annoying, perhaps, but manageable with strong enough PSI."

"Ninten…"

"Just tell me something," Ninten said. "Let's say that you did go through with the procedure and possessed my body just the same way that you possessed Lucas' body in the V-game. What would have happened to me? Would I have faded away entirely?"

"No." Mary took a deep breath. "Let me show you what would have happened."

Mary snapped, and the deck faded away from existence.

The ocean and shore were replaced by a world of colored blocks. Shades of red, blue, green, and yellow scattered the landscape, forming large staircases and slides. The colored cubes and cylinders looked like massive versions of children's building blocks, and they were stacked to make life-sized castles in the distance. Ninten looked around and saw stacks of blocks with holes in them that looked like a jungle gym.

It looked like something out of a children's book.

"The plan was for me to swap places with you," Mary said. "I would take control your body while you would come over here into my Magicant. I planned to swap our positions when you were still a young child. I knew that you wouldn't age once you arrived here, so you could explore this life-sized playground as a child forever. I thought it would be a mercy from the horrors of the real world."

"So even back then," Ninten said, "You wanted me to look away from the truth and live my life out in ignorance."

"I think I've seen a little too much truth for my own good," Mary said. "For me, the innocence of a child seemed like a blessing."

"Then why couldn't you bring yourself to go through with your plan?" Ninten said. "If you thought you were helping me, why didn't you end up killing me?"

"Well, for one your parents might have found out and tried to stop me," Mary said. "And George might have as well."

"I doubt George would have cared about me," Ninten said.

"Perhaps," Mary said. "Although he may have wanted me to stick around with him after death. Our psyspaces are connected, you know. That's why we can both go to that deck overlooking the ocean. And as much as he hates people, I don't think he would have wanted to be left alone with a child."

"But I'm sure George wouldn't have been able to stop you from fulfilling your promise," Ninten said, "If you were prepared to kill your great-grandson."

"No," Mary said. "He wouldn't have."

Ninten took a step towards Mary. "Then tell me why you let me live."

"I didn't have any other choice." Mary looked away. "When you gave me that giraffe drawing, I knew that I couldn't bring myself to do something so unspeakable to you. At first I called it weakness. Then I called it love. I'm still not sure which one it is."

Most of the pieces had already clicked together in Ninten's mind. Mary, the person that had hugged Ninten every time he cried and listened to his rambling every time school stressed him out, had at one point been planning to kill him. Ninten's entire childhood had been a lie.

And the scary part was that Ninten could sort of see where she was coming from. He looked around at the colorful blocks around him, the buildings and mountains of wood that would take days to climb and explore. It wouldn't be such a bad place to live as a child forever. And that was the only price. Mary only had to trap one lonely orphan in this world of toy blocks and she would have another eighty years to keep world peace.

Wouldn't that be worth it? One life for the protection of millions?

"I know it probably doesn't make sense to you now," Mary said, "How your little picture could convince me to give up on a plan to protect the world that was seared into my mind along with my memories of the holocaust. But I think that if you become a grandparent, you'll understand. The reason I devoted my life to protecting this world was so that people like you could grow up without fear. I saw you as the symbol of everything I had worked for. So I couldn't sacrifice you."

"If that's the case, I don't know how much I can really blame you," Ninten said. "You would have killed a nameless orphan to ensure the world's safety. I think many people would. But you didn't kill your grandson Ninten. I think that's what matters."

"You," Mary said, grimacing, "Are so sweet that it's giving me a headache."

"Uh… thanks?"

"You're supposed to hate me," Mary said. "You're supposed to run away and leave both me and George behind. We never caused you anything but pain."

"Not a compliment." Mary shook her head. "I swear you'll hate me by the end of this story."

Ninten blinked. There was more?

"After I decided not to kill you," Mary said, "I went searching for another nameless orphan to act as a vessel for my consciousness. Nobody had as much natural PSI talent as you. The only person who came close was a boy I found on a newly discovered island in the Pacific."

A chill ran down Ninten's spine. "Claus."

"Actually, Lucas. I had the military storm in and seize him, but Claus volunteered in his place. It didn't make much of a difference in my mind, since both of them were equally talented in PSI."

"So everything that happened to Claus and Lucas was also your fault."

Mary planning to prey on Ninten was unfortunate, sure. But going overseas to harm some innocent kids in a happy little village? It just felt _wrong._

"I am a monster," Mary said. "More of one than my husband, in fact, and as I recall you said to his face that you wanted to strangle him and watch the life fade away from his eyes."

Ninten reminded himself that Mary probably _wanted_ him to get angry and leave. If he really despised what she had done, the best way to fight against her would be to keep his cool.

"You're not giving reason to argue the point about you being a monster," Ninten said. "But please, continue the story."

Mary's eyes widened in hurt. Well, what did she expect?

"I wanted to push Claus to his limits with his PSI, since he still didn't have as much potential as you do," Mary said. "I always figured that if I broke his mind then I could just find someone else. And I did break his mind, so I went to find someone else."

Ninten gritted his teeth. Mary had been right to initially call it weakness when she couldn't bring herself to kill Ninten. Why had she spared him just to force Claus into a deep depression instead?

She should have just killed Ninten instead.

Mary looked over at Ninten, her gaze pinning him in place. "You look like you want to say something."

Ninten shook his head. "It's nothing."

"Tell me. Please."

"It's _nothing._ "

Mary sighed. "I wish you would get angry with me when I talked about harming you. I'm glad that you judge me for what happened to Claus, but your life matters too."

"Yeah, yeah."

"I'm serious, Ninten. The real world is going to eat you alive if you don't learn to care for yourself."

"You said that you searched for someone else after Claus' mind broke."

"Fine." Mary straightened her posture. "I was going to use Lucas as a vessel."

"You-"

"Right. Claus made the military promise not to harm Lucas if they would just take him, and I was going to break that promise. But then, using satellites that were circling around the islands, I saw Lucas at the summit of the mountain."

"Mountain?"

"The Nowhere Islands are volcanic, Ninten. They're all made of mountains, really." Mary took a moment to catch her breath. "Lucas had ventured up all the way to the summit to a shrine. He prayed for the Dark Dragon to remake the world anew and protect all life on this earth. Even in his darkest moments, he still had hope."

"Just like me and Claus now. We'll find a way to stop George and save the Nowhere Islands."

"Yes, you're all so lovably innocent. Just like with you, I couldn't bring myself to use Lucas as a vessel. He wanted to protect all life on this earth, even people like me who had harmed his brother. I couldn't hurt someone like that. So I sent him over to America to give him an education. But I don't think he ever recovered from the death of his mother and brother."

"There's still hope for him."

Mary sighed. "The truth caught up to Lucas, and it ended with him falling off a cliff. Stay in the V-game long enough, and it will do the same to you. The Nowhere Islands cannot be saved, Ninten. Not after what I've done to it."

Ninten shook his head. "There has to be a way to stop the cycle of suffering. I'll find it eventually, no matter how long it takes."

"You're just going to end up hurting yourself and everyone around you," Mary said. "To this day, I wish that George and I had never discovered PSI. I thought I was saving the world, but I was only bleeding it dry. Our only choice is to turn around and walk away, Ninten. The human mind is too fragile to handle the truth."

"I don't think so," Ninten said. "Claus and I both discovered the truth about the Nowhere Islands, but we did it together. And if one of us ever falters like you and Lucas did, the other one of us will be there to offer a hand. By working together, we accomplished more than we ever could have alone. But we're not going to stop here."

"You said it," came a voice from the right.

Ninten looked over to see Claus standing by a tower of life-sized toy blocks, grinning at Ninten.

"How did you get in here?" Mary said, frowning.

"There was a Magicant portal," Claus said, "And with you just lying there on the floor, I decided to take it."

Mary grunted. "This doesn't change anything. You'll both fall back into despair eventually if you keep trying to help the Nowhere Islands. It's for your own good that I'm telling you to leave it all behind."

"Considering that I'm stuck here," Claus said, "Then I guess I had better make the most of this happy little phase in my life-after-death, hmm?"

"First Ninten and now you," Mary said. "I swear, if I see someone else who's obnoxiously upbeat…"

"Then what?" came another voice.

Ana materialized into existence next to Claus moments later. She gasped and looked around at the world, placing her hand on one of the enlarged toy blocks.

"This is…" Ana trailed off.

"A little childish, I know," Mary said, "But that's not the point. I'm sorry that you dragged yourself into this mess as well, Ana."

"This is _awesome_ ," Ana said, looking up at the tower of blocks. "Did you make this?"

Mary blinked. "If you're talking to me, then yes."

Ana walked up to Mary and extended her hand.

"I don't think that now is the time for polite introductions," Mary said.

"Aw, come on. I wish that my own psyspace looked half this good. You do a good job of hitting me right in the nostalgia with the building blocks."

Ana's hand remained out in front of her, and Mary took a step back. After a moment, Mary glanced over at Ninten.

"What are you planning?" Mary said.

"I didn't even know they were coming," Ninten said. Looking over at Ana, "Especially you."

"Lucas let me into the V-game," Ana said, "After explaining what happened. And Claus seemed nice, so we decided to go into this psyspace together. A psyspace inside of a V-game inside of a psyspace… talk about meta. Psyspace-ception. Whatever you want to call it."

"Right," Ninten said. "This is actually my Great-Grandmother Mary's Magicant. We've been chatting."

"Ooh, nice," Ana said. "Always good to work in some family time even when trying to save a V-game world."

"Did you learn anything about how to weaken George through the V-game?" Claus said.

Mary looked over at Ana's hand. "Sorry, but I'm not going to shake your hand."

Ana shrugged and let her arm fall to her side.

"What Hinawa meant when she said that George could be hurt in this game," Mary said, "Was that if you find a way to blow this game up, the explosion will annihilate both of our psyspace."

"Maybe you should have led with that, back in the cave," Claus said.

Mary flashed a sad smile. "I knew that Ninten wouldn't have the heart to blow up this V-game even if I told him how."

"Right," Ninten said. "I won't risk Claus' and Hinawa's lives."

"They'll be safe," Mary said. "George and I would be the only ones with nowhere to run. The explosion would erase us from existence and liberate everyone else. But I knew that Ninten still wouldn't do it."

"Because of you," Ninten said.

"Because of me," Mary said.

All this time, Mary had been fighting a different type of battle with her words. Because the only way for Ninten to save himself was to annihilate Mary and George both by exploding the V-game. Much easier to do if Ninten already hated Mary and had given up on trying to protect her. Every one of her words was a missile, armed with the purpose of getting Ninten to despise her.

All for Ninten's own good.

"There has to be another way," Ninten said.

"Don't mistake me, Ninten," Mary said, her voice dangerously soft. "What I told you was the truth. I deserve oblivion just as much as George. You are going to leave my psyspace and leave this V-game. I'll send Hinawa directions on how to blow up the V-game, and you can try. Only someone as gifted in PSI as you will be able to perform the trick. I'm guessing it could take months of practice, but once you vaporize George any criminal charges will vanish."

Mary had probably planned some dramatic lead-up to her claim Ninten that he should detonate the V-game to destroy her and George both. And knowing her, it might have worked. Thankfully, Claus and Ana had arrived to throw off her tempo and force her to play her trump card early.

A crucial mistake.

Because really, Ninten on his own was no match for Mary. When she was controlling Lucas back in the cave, she had convinced him that he was doing more harm than good to everyone. Ninten had been seconds away from leaving the V-game altogether. And here, Ninten had no doubt that she would have convinced him to erase her existence along with George.

But Ninten didn't need to be a match for Mary. Because both times, his friends had stepped in to set him back on track.

His guilt wouldn't get the better of him.

His hatred wouldn't get the better of him.

Not with Claus and Ana to bring out the best parts of him.

"No," Ninten said. "I'm staying, and so long as my friends are with me I'm sure that we can find a way to defeat George while preserving the memory of the Nowhere Islands. Do you want to join us?"

Mary clasped her hands together. "You know I can't. I have to ask that you leave now. I'll send Hinawa with the directions for how to detonate the V-game. Once you get rid of me and George, you'll be free to do whatever you want. Be an artist, psion, teacher, scientist, whatever. We won't harass you ever again."

"And if I refuse to leave?" Ninten said.

Mary looked Ninten in the eye. "Then I'll have to send you out by force. I won't enjoy it, but I'll do it."

"And If I come back?"

"I'll force you out again. As many times as it takes."

Ninten shook his head. "I don't know if Claus and Ana are with me, but I'll keep returning to the Nowhere Islands as many times as I need to. I _will_ stop the cycle of suffering."

"Of course I'm with you," Ana said. "This sounds like way more exciting than chemistry and physics anyway."

"And obviously I'll stand by your side as well," Claus said. "I would even if this had nothing to do with my homeland."

"Well, there you have it," Ninten said. "We're here to stay."

Mary took a deep breath. "Then I guess I'll just have to kill you again and again until you finally see that I'm the exact monster I claim to be. Eventually, you _will_ see the truth. I just hope that you can run away before it steals your sanity."

Mary raised an arm to the sky, and a steel blade materialized in her hand. As she pointed the sword at Ninten, the world started to shift and morph.

"Please believe me," Mary said, tears coming to her eyes, "When I say that I'm sorry for this."


	21. One Last Chance

The world blurred out of existence, and then reformed into a battlefield. Tall grass swayed in the wind as the sun beat down in the cloudless sky above. Mary pointed her sword at Ninten, and it glimmered in the sunlight along with the tears that rolled down her cheeks. Ninten took a step towards his great-grandmother.

An explosion rocked the earth, spraying dirt in Ninten's face. By the time that he regained his senses, he was lying on the ground. He blinked, making out the shapes of Ana and Claus.

Ninten's legs tingled as he stood up, and when he looked down he saw them wobbling.

"Incoming," Ana said, looking over at Claus. "What do we do?"

Claus thrust his hands forward, and a blue forcefield made of clear hexagons appeared around the group. Ninten heard another explosion behind him, and whipped his head around to see dirt splattering onto the forcefield. Claus grunted.

Ninten looked out through the forcefield, spotting on the surrounding hills what looked like small artillery units that each carried a rack of arrows rather than a cannon barrel. Mary stood atop one of the hills, now wearing a suit of white armor instead of her Victorian dress.

"What are those things?" Claus said.

The "things" fired more arrows out of their wooden grates dozens at a time. The arrows arced in the sky, thick enough to look like a storm of crows, and descended onto the battlefield. Many hit Claus' forcefield, and Ninten could see sweat beading up on his face.

"I think those are hwachas," Ana said.

"Is that even a real word?" Claus said.

"16th century Korean rocket launchers. Without people to reload them, each one should only fire one round."

"One round of a hundred explosive arrows," Claus said. "Joy."

Ninten looked around at the hills around the battlefield at the dozens of artillery.

"Ana," Ninten said. "Close your eyes to check your PSI. I don't have anything useful for stopping the arrows, but I should be able to heal you up if you get damaged."

Before checking to see if Ana followed his directions, Ninten looked back over at Claus. Another wave of arrows hit the forcefield, and Claus' legs started shaking.

"Claus. Can you take some of my energy?"

Claus flashed a weak smile. "Don't think so. I'll… be fine."

Ninten whirled back around and looked out at the hills. Mary held her blade in hand, looking down at the battlefield with an unreadable expression. She extended a hand out towards one of the hwatchas, and the artillery fired its round of arrows that rose up and blackened the sky.

She was really going to keep at it until the arrows broke through the forcefield.

 _Correct,_ came a voice in Ninten's mind. _Leave while you still have the chance. It will be easier for both of us if you run away and save yourself._

Ninten felt his shoulders tense. He supposed that it made sense that someone like Mary who spent most of her adult life practicing PSI could read his mind and send telepathic messages, but it didn't explain why her voice sounded so distant in his mind.

 _I love you Ninten. Please, don't let yourself get dragged into this mess._

Ninten stared at Mary for a moment, and then narrowed his eyes.

 _Any grandmother would do everything she could to save her grandson. Please don't worry about me, Ninten._

"Okay," came Ana's voice. "So I have a shield thingy that I can use inside of this Magicant. Might as well try it out."

A layer of green hexagons spread out in front of Ninten, enclosing him, Ana, and Claus in a small dome. Claus sucked in a breath of air, and the layer of blue hexagons faded away. More arrows slammed into the forcefield, and Ana flinched when they detonated.

"These arrows are kind of rude," Ana muttered. "Didn't their parents ever teach them to use their words?"

"Takes a lot out of you, doesn't it?" Claus said. "Just give me a second to recover."

By now, Claus was clutching his chest and panting. Ninten took a step towards him, but Claus waved in dismissal.

"I got it," Claus said. "Just need a little time."

More arrows exploded on the forcefield. Ana bared her teeth and growled.

"Okay," she said. "This is actually starting to get a little annoying."

Ninten scanned the hills, and saw that only about a quarter of the hwatchas had been depleted of arrows. He took a minute to cycle through his PSI abilities. Quickup? Still wouldn't let them dodge arrows. 4th-D slip? No, Mary would know what he was up to and kill him when he appeared again in the future.

Ninten extended a hand in front of him and tried to form the same forcefield that Ana and Claus had put up. A few wisps of purple PSI energy unfurled in front of him, but nothing stayed in place.

Useless again. Oh boy.

 _Just run, Ninten,_ Mary's voice echoed in his mind. _Let Hinawa teach you how to destroy the Nowhere Islands V-game once and for all. Leave it all behind. Me, George, the Dark Dragon, everyone. Turn away and live your normal life._

"Ninten," Ana said. "Can you do anything? I don't know how many more volleys I can take before my forcefield buckles."

"No, just give me a minute," Claus said. "Really, I think I'll be able to help you once I focus again."

Claus took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His fingers trembled as he held out a hand in front of him. He thrust his palm forward, and crooked blue hexagons appeared outside of Ana's forcefield, adding on another layer. Another volley of arrows bore down, and the explosions shattered Claus' forcefield.

"Damn," Claus said, his eyes flashing open. "I guess I need a bit more time."

"You're drained," Ana said. "I can sense it."

Claus shook his head. "I promise I'm stronger than this."

"Ninten." Ana's gaze pinned him in place. "I need you to try something else with your PSI."

"Like what?"

"Like anything. Even if it sounds stupid. It's not our situation can really get worse."

 _And it won't get better, either,_ came Mary's voice. _If you come back into the V-game after I shoo you out, you'll find the same line of hwachas waiting for you._

Ninten looked away from Ana's desperate gaze. All throughout the V-game, his PSI had been essentially useless. He hadn't used it to stop the cycle of suffering before, and he couldn't use it to save his friends before.

He would die, come back, and die again to the hwachas again. Nothing would ever chance.

"Ninten?" Claus said. "What do you think we should do."

Ninten blinked. That was exactly it. Nothing was going to change.

"Mary," Ninten said. "I know that you can hear me."

Silence.

"Mary. Don't play dumb with me."

 _Ninten, George fabricates more evidence against you with each second that passes. We don't have time for this._

"No, that's where you're wrong. I have all the time in the world."

Another round of explosions sounded, and Ana's forcefield started to flicker.

"Go ahead," Ninten said. "Kill us. We'll just come back to the V-game."

The hwachas stopped firing, leaving the battlefield in a deathly silence. Ana hesitated and then lowered her arms, the forcefield disappearing as her hands fell to her side.

"You see it, don't you?" Ninten said. "You have to work with us. If you try to force us out, we'll just renter the game again and again. Come closer, grandmother. I want to strike a deal."

The world stood still for a moment. Ninten bit his lip to distract himself from the churning of his stomach. Maybe he had made a mistake. Maybe Mary had some power over Ninten that he just couldn't understand.

Or maybe she just didn't care about watching her great-grandson die over and over again.

"Grandma?" Ninten said.

Mary materialized a few paces in front of Ninten, holding her sword at her side. Out of the corner of his eye, Ninten saw Ana raising her hands to use PSI and motioned for her to stop. Ninten took a step forward and offered a nod to his great-grandmother.

"I'm not sure who your biological parents were," Mary said, "But they must have been clever people. Too bad they didn't have the good sense to raise their own sweet child."

Ninten frowned. Was Mary trying to taunt him? Compliment him? What did she hope to gain from those words? He knew that she must have weighed every one before speaking.

"But even though I need to listen to you," Mary said, "Don't forget that I control the Nowhere Islands V-game. If I wanted to, I could teleport you all into a pit of lava and watch it melt your skin."

"But you didn't," Ninten said, "Because you need to do more than send us out of the V-game. You need to convince us to stay out."

"Pain isn't a particularly elegant way of crushing souls, but it works. If you leave me no choice, I'll sacrifice my morals again and hurt my precious baby boy until he has the good sense to erase the Nowhere Islands V-game and end his great-grandparents' miserable lives after death. I won't let George take you, Ninten, and I'll do anything it takes to stop him." Her eyes flashed with pain. "Anything."

"Even torture me until I break?"

"Yes." Mary looked Ninten in the eye. "You know that I've done terrible things in the name of the greater good. I'll just add one more stone to the bucket if it will save you from George."

Ninten shook his head. "I'm not destroying the Nowhere Islands V-game if it means erasing you as well. Even if I take out George in the process."

Mary took a deep breath. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe this is what I want? Maybe it doesn't feel good to see you pay for my mistakes. I barely had time to raise my children. I barely had time to raise my grandchildren. Your mother and grandfather deserved so much better from me. So I wanted everything to be different with you. I didn't want my past to weigh on you like it burdened everyone else I know."

"I remember all of the times you'd help me play with building blocks as a child," Ninten said. "I remember how you would hug me every time that George made me cry. You did make it different for me, grandma. You made my life wonderful. That's why I can't let you fade away."

"I'm so tired, Ninten." Mary flashed a sad smile. "It's my time to go. I don't expect you to understand, but there will be a time in your life when you wish for oblivion as well. So please _just let me die._ "

"Not when we still have work to do," Ninten said. "I can see why you invaded the Nowhere Islands and searched for psychic kids to be a vessel for your spirit. But we still need to right those wrongs, and I can do it together. Claus, what do you think?"

Ninten looked back over his shoulder. Ana was studying Mary through narrowed eyes while Claus looked on with his hands raised near his chest in a defensive position.

"Claus?"

"You're really the one who caused all of our problems?" Claus said to Mary. "You were the one who told the military to take me and break me down?"

"All me," Mary said. "And if Ninten destroys the V-game, he'll wipe me out and you'll get your revenge. You and your mother will be fine. I don't know where your data files are stored, but they're not here inside of the V-game."

"But Lucas told me that my people are still suffering back on the real Nowhere Islands," Claus said. "Your death won't save them."

"And your assistance could," Ninten said. "We just need to get you out of here and you can open up to the world about everything that happened. We'll be here to help you every step of the way."

Mary raised her sword. "When someone tries to kill you, and then threatens to torture you, it's generally a good idea to run. I'm not the victim of this story, Ninten. I'm not the princess that needs saving. I'm the villain. And if you don't erase me, I _will_ make your life miserable. Do what's best for you, Ninten."

"I think that Ninten and Claus are right," Ana said. "Maybe you've done terrible things. Hell, maybe you're even a terrible person. But from the bits and pieces that I've gathered, it sounds like we need you to bring justice to the Nowhere Islands. Killing you doesn't solve any of our problems."

"It solves one massive problem named George," Mary said.

"Grandma, please." Ninten extended a hand forward. "Together, we can end the cycle of suffering. I think I understand why you are the Dark Dragon inside the V-game. You have the raw PSI power to save the world, but I need to guide you along with my emotions. That's what it means to pass on a heart to the Dark Dragon."

Mary smiled. "I love you, Ninten, but you shouldn't put your faith in fairy tales. Especially not fake ones."

"I think Lucas already passed his heart onto you when he prayed for the Dark Dragon to protect all life back in the real Nowhere Islands. You couldn't bring yourself to hurt anyone else because of his heart. I think that together, we can do even more."

"And I'll stand with you, all the way," Claus said. "I have to hang onto the hope that we can make things better for the people back on the Nowhere Islands. I don't have anything else left."

"I'm in as well, obviously," Ana said, flashing a grin. "I'm learning PSI because I want to heal people. And I think that physical wounds aren't the only kind we can cure."

"Then you are all fools," Mary said. "Wonderful, lovely, precious fools, but fools all the same. Life isn't about lollipops and rainbows. We live lonely lives and die lonely deaths. And if I have to teach you the harsh truth to make you see that there are some problems we just can't fix, then I'll crush your innocence and throw it into the abyss with the all of the other broken dreams."

"Then do it," Ninten said. "We're out of PSI energy. Fire the hwachas and watch it rip our flesh apart."

Mary hesitated.

"You can't do it," Ninten said, "Because you know deep down that we're stronger than we look. We'll be back again and again until we can get you to help us stop the cycle of suffering for the real Nowhere Islands."

Mary's gaze narrowed.

"I want to make a deal," Ninten said. "I think you'll find my terms quite reasonable."

"Sometimes," Mary said, "I resent the fact that you're so nice and smart and _perfect._ But I guess perfect isn't the right word. Because staying around here will flay your soul. You know that. You're sacrificing yourself for a shred of hope that you can save someone who doesn't deserve your help."

"I'll be the first one to talk about how you might deserve to rot in hell for an eternity," Claus said, "But I've learned that revenge doesn't help anyone. I just want what's best for my people, and we all know that you have the power and knowledge to help spread the word about the Nowhere Islands. It's as simple as that."

"Right," Ana said. "You get redemption, we get a chance to make a difference, and the people of the Nowhere Islands get a happy ending. I don't see why we shouldn't just work together. Optimism isn't as naïve as you make it out to be."

"See, grandma?" Ninten said. "Sometimes it's not about judgment. It's about what the world needs. And I'm not even asking you to help us. Not yet."

Mary offered a slight nod. "State your terms."

"You'll face me on the battlefield," Ninten said. "Not hiding behind hwachas. If you want to kill me, use your blade. Look into my eyes as you see the life drain out of them. That is my request."

Mary hesitated, lowering her blade further. Her armor danced in the sunlight as her arm moved through the air.

"And in return," Ninten said, "I'll face you alone."

"Ninten?" Claus said. "I thought that we were all in this together."

Ninten turned around, forcing a smile as he met Claus' wide eyes.

"You're with me, Claus," Ninten said. "Always. Do you trust me to get through to my grandmother on my own?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then I won't let you down. It's as simple as that."

Ana looked over and nodded. "I've been learning, Claus, that despite how much Ninten looks and acts like a wimp we can't do everything for him."

"Ann," Ninten said. "Really? Right now?"

Ana shrugged. "Hey, I mean it in the best possible way. You might be a wimp, but you're fighting through your fears and doing awesome stunts in this V-game anyway. I think that's what matters."

"Unfortunately, none of it matters," Mary said, "Because I'm not accepting that deal."

Ninten turned back around to see his great-grandmother taking a step back and shaking her head.

"I'm not counting on my ability to scare you out of this V-game even when you're alone," Mary said. "Please, Ninten. You just need to _leave._ "

"What else do you want?" Ninten said. "I don't want you to kill us over and over again with explosive arrows from hundreds of feet away. If you have to force us out of the Nowhere Islands, at least thrust the blade into our chests yourself."

"Unfortunately, you're not in a position to make demands," Mary said. "I know you're plotting something, Ninten. You're too clever not to be. The way I win this game is by not playing it."

Mary turned around.

"Grandma."

Mary started walking away. She raised an arm, and one of the hwachas fired a round of arrows.

"If you kill me in a fair duel, I won't come back," Ninten said.

Arrows streaked through the air, a storm of grey on the blue sky. Mary whirled around.

"What did you say?"

"Stop the arrows."

Mary grunted, and then thrust a hand forward. A yellow pattern of hexagons appeared around Ninten, Claus, and Ana. The arrows arced and fell down on the forcefield like chunks of ice in a hailstorm. Each one exploded, clouding Ninten's vision of Mary. After the explosions ended and the arrows lay scattered around the forcefield, Mary lowered her arm and the yellow hexagons around Ninten and his friends vanished.

"If you want to face me alone," Ninten said, "And you kill me, then I'll never enter the Nowhere Islands V-game again. I'll erase the V-game and forget that the Nowhere Islands ever existed."

And then the real Nowhere Islands would remain a black hole of information. People would scream across the Pacific and nobody would be there on the other side to listen. The cycle of suffering would continue. Ninten took a deep breath.

"Are you sure about this?" Claus said. "If you never go back into the Nowhere Islands V-game, then…"

"We can still meet in Lucas' Magicant," Ninten said. "I'll never leave you, Claus."

"Besides, it doesn't matter," Ana said, "Because I'm sure that you'll find some crazy way to wring a happy ending out of this whole mess."

"Oh, I wouldn't count on it," Mary said, slowly raising her sword as it glimmered in the sunlight. "Besides, I don't have any reason to trust that you'll keep your word."

"What do you have to lose?" Ninten said. "If you kill me and I come back, you can just revert to your original plan of beating me into submission."

Mary winced. "It makes me so sad that you say that phrase, Ninten. I love you so much and I hope you know that hurting my precious baby boy is the last thing that I would ever want to do."

"But you have to make sacrifices to do what you think is best for me," Ninten said. "I understand. Do you accept the deal or not?"

"You'll really just leave the Nowhere Islands behind if I kill you once?"

Not like he had much of a choice, really. If he couldn't get through to Mary now, he would probably break before she did.

"I will."

Mary smiled, and looked down at her sword. "In that case, I accept."

Ninten nodded, and looked back at his friends. "I think I have it from here."

"I'll be cheering you on from the outside," Ana said with a grin, and then vanished.

Claus looked down at his feet. "Ana trusts you to do this. I guess I should too."

Maybe not. Ninten didn't know how he would be able to pull off a miracle to get Mary out of the V-game. Was it even possible?

"It's just that the last time someone asked me to trust them," Claus said, "It was the American military asking me to believe that they wouldn't hurt me. We both know where that one ended."

Claus squeezed his eyes shut. Ninten wondered if Claus heard a gunshot in his mind, if he were reliving how the cool metal of the gun barrel felt as it slid through his lips and into his mouth.

"Look at what I did to your friend, Ninten," Mary said. "If you stay around me long enough, I'll do the same to you. It's inevitable."

"But then again," Claus said, "You were always a stronger person than I was. I'm counting on you to keep your mind together. Don't let your story end as mine."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Claus," Ninten said.

"Hmm?"

"You're one of the strongest people I know. It amazes me that after everything that's happened, you can still open up your heart and trust me. True strength means putting yourself out in the world even when it might hurt you."

"Thanks." Claus nodded, his eyes still closed. "I'll try to keep that in mind."

"And Claus?" Ninten said. "One more thing. Thanks for being my friend."

Claus' eyes flashed open, and a grin spread onto his face. For that moment, Ninten was back on Mt. Oriander, watching the way that ten year-old Claus' eyes twinkled as he begged for Ninten to join him in play-fighting with the Dragos.

"Of course," Claus said. "Friends forever."

Claus placed a hand over his chest, nodded at Ninten, and then took one last look up at the sky. He closed his eyes and exhaled, and moments later he vanished from sight.

"Touching," Mary said. "If you want to stay that way, then you should turn back now."

Ninten turned around to see his great-grandmother taking slow steps towards him with her sword raised. Her white armor radiated sunlight.

"You said that you wanted a fair fight," Mary said. "Choose your weapon."

"A quarterstaff."

Mary hesitated. "I don't want you to come back into the V-game saying the fight wasn't fair. Pick a real weapon."

Ninten shook his head. "I don't want to hurt you, grandma. I just need a staff that won't break when I use it to block your blade."

Mary's eyes narrowed. She extended a hand to her side, and a gnarled branch of wood appeared in her hand. She set her sword on the ground and snapped the branch over her armored kneepad.

Snapped, that was, except that the branch didn't break.

Mary held up the stick of wood for Ninten to inspect. No bends, no breaks. She tossed the quarterstaff to him, and he fumbled for it in the air. By the time that he caught the branch and held it in his hands, Mary had picked up her sword and was now pointing it at him.

"Tell me when you want to start," Mary said. "I won't let you make the excuse that I caught you by surprise. But once you say go, I'll hunt you down to the ends of the earth to make sure that you leave this hellscape once and for all."

Ninten took a deep breath. Without his friends, Mary would have been able to manipulate his emotions and get him to leave the V-game on his own accord.

While controlling Lucas in the Cave of the Dark Dragon, she would have convinced Ninten that he was only hurting the people that he was trying to protect.

Here in her own Magicant, she would have enraged Ninten and pushed him to leaving in a huff.

Ana and Claus had stepped in to set Ninten back on track. He would have to remember to thank them again for standing by him all this time. But the real fight here was between Ninten and Mary.

She was _his_ great-grandmother.

She had planned to use _him_ as a vessel.

She had loved him and looked into his eyes with a smile since birth.

Ninten looked up into Mary's eyes. Beneath the fire in her onyx-black irises, Ninten detected a moment's hesitation, a twinge of sorrow.

A single tear welled up in her eye and rolled down her cheek.

This was what Ninten would have to face alone.

"I'm ready," Ninten said. "Let's go."

Mary nodded, and then raised her sword to the sky.


	22. Sinking Into Darkness

As Mary raised her sword to the heavens, it started to glow with a radiant light.

"I'm sorry," Mary said, "That this will be the last time I ever see you."

Mary darted forward, her motions lithe and smooth even in armor. She slammed her sword down towards Ninten's face, and he barely managed to bring his quarterstaff up in time. Ninten grunted under the weight as Mary's sword pushed closer and closer to Ninten's forehead. Her glowing blade radiated heat, and when her sword pressed inches away from Ninten's face it felt like being next to a furnace. Ninten looked past the blinding light into Mary's expression.

Empty. Resigned. Yet still somehow Determined.

Ninten let out a yelp and stumbled backwards. Mary closed her eyes and pressed a fist against her breastplate.

"This would be so much easier if you were willing to accept who I am," Mary said. "I never should have raised you to love me. Not even a lifetime will rewrite that mistake."

Mary's eyes flashed open, and she walked towards Ninten. She held her glowing sword in a loose grip as she strode forward. Once Mary got close, she leapt forward in a sudden motion and whirled her blade around, feinting left and then striking right. Ninten raised his quarterstaff to protect from the stroke to the left, and his vision flashed with pain as he felt the steel dig into his right side.

Nitnen gritted his teeth and lashed out with his quarterstaff, but by that time Mary had already danced away. Panting, Ninten placed a hand at his side and used Lifeup to heal the wound.

"I never deserved your love," Mary said. "You don't owe me anything. Claus and Lucas are perfect examples of what happens to people who stay around me. You're not doing the world any good by letting me break you just like I destroyed them."

Ninten took a deep breath and raised his quarterstaff in a defensive position to protect his chest.

"You will leave the V-game," Mary said, "Or you will _shatter_ just like everyone else who set foot inside the Nowhere Islands."

She ran forward, and the tall grass seemed to part way as she approached. When she leapt at Ninten this time, she delivered a flurry of strokes. Ninten managed to block most of them with his quarterstaff, but a few of them snuck through his defensive wall and created lines of fiery pain along his sides and legs. And through each slice and stab, Ninten looked at Mary's face and stared into her wide, sad eyes.

Mary ended her string of attacks with a kick that sent Ninten stumbling backwards. His vision swam as he reoriented his balance. He looked up to see Mary pointed her blade at him, her eyes narrowed.

"I'll be whoever I have to," Mary said. "I'll taint my soul as much as I can if it gets you to escape." Mary smirked. "Not that I have much of a soul left in me, anyway."

Ninten hadn't stopped panting when she lunged at him next. His arms moaned as he raised his quarterstaff up, and screamed each time he braced himself against Mary's blows. And Mary showed no signs of slowing. Her sword became a blur as she flicked it this way and that, drawing Ninten's attention for just long enough to feint and lunge for a different part of his body. By the time that Ninten managed to stagger back out of Mary's reach, he could feel the pain clouding his thoughts.

Why was he here, again?

What did he hope to achieve?

Hopeless.

Ninten shook his head. If Mary kept up the pressure and the offensive tempo then she could have killed him by now. She was taunting him, giving him moments to catch his breath, because deep down in her heart she didn't want to hurt her precious baby boy.

At least, that was what Ninten hoped.

"I don't know what you're trying to accomplish by standing there and trying to block my attacks," Mary said. "You're probably trying to prove some point by not attacking me, but it won't work. I lived by life based on ideals once, you know. Don't cheat, don't lie, don't steal, don't kill. But I learned that those don't mean much once you're dead."

"Maybe not," Ninten said, "But hopes and ideals are the only reason to live."

"So you can still talk to me, at least." Mary advanced towards Ninten. "We'll see how long that lasts."

Mary swung her blade around at Ninten. It moved so smoothly that it seemed to slice through the air itself. She unleashed a barrage of attacks at Ninten, her sword blazing with light. Ninten gasped in pain whenever an attack snuck past his quarterstaff, and eventually he stumbled backwards and took a moment to catch his breath.

But Mary wasn't done.

She followed his retreating movements, pairing her slashes with each of Ninten's steps. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she hacked at Ninten with her sword, each of her strokes as clean and efficient as a surgeon cutting open flesh with a scalpel. More and more areas on Ninten's body lit up in pain, and eventually he let out a cry and fell on his rear.

Ninten looked up to see Mary standing above him, sword blazing and armor shining with white light. She raised her sword above her head, playing the executioner ready to deliver the final blow.

"Goodbye," Mary said. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be a better grandma for you."

Mary brought her sword down.

Ninten closed his eyes.

 _Thump._ One heartbeat.

 _Thump._ Two heartbeats.

 _Thump._ Three heartbeats.

The pain didn't come.

Ninten opened his eyes and felt the iron underneath his hands and legs. He forced himself to his feet and looked around at the sloped iron deck that he stood on. The ocean waves rocked around in all directions. Past the iron deck was the bow of the ship, made of wood and shaped in the head of a dragon. Mary stood atop the dragon head, her armor gleaming in the sunlight. She raised her arms, and fire billowed out from the mouth of the dragon head.

"Welcome to the Geobukseon," Mary said. "It's as good a place to die as any."

Ninten looked around him at the iron spikes on the deck as the ship rocked around him. He stared up at the mast that flapped above his head.

"This is the same turtle ship as the one in George's office," Ninten said out loud.

Mary leapt off the dragon's head and onto the deck of the ship. She darted in between the iron spikes on the deck ass he ran forward. Ninten healed himself with Lifeup and dug his feet in to meet her charge.

Mary and Ninten repeated the same dance. She lunged in, slashed at Ninten until he grunted and staggered away, and then told him to flee. Ninten could feel his movements growing more and more sluggish as fatigue wore down on him, while Mary's footwork and sword strokes were as crisp and elegant as ever. Her expression remained neutral, her black eyes stone-cold.

Mary drove him further and further towards the stern. Ninten stumbled around the iron spikes on the deck as Mary forced him back, and she herself seemed not to even notice the spines as she wove around them. Ninten checked his PSI stores. Almost empty.

He couldn't keep going on like this.

Something had to change.

Ninten let out a shout and ran forward, dodging around the spikes. Mary looked at him, and her lips broke into a slight frown. She took a deep breath as Ninten barreled towards her, and then released the same sort of sigh as a veterinarian preparing herself to euthanize a sick animal.

Mary rose her blade at the last second. Steel slammed into wood, and Ninten's arms groaned in pain. Mary slammed a knee into his stomach, regarding him with iron eyes as his vision swam and he stumbled backwards. Ninten heard his quarterstaff clatter as it fell from his grip and landed on the ground.

Mary hesitated for just a moment before taking a step forward. In a single, smooth motion, she shoved her blade forward towards Ninten's chest.

Ninten leaned away from the glowing sword and fell backwards. He held his hands out behind him to brace his landing, but he didn't hit ground. The deck grew distant, floating above him like a cloud in the sky. Ninten saw flashes of the ship's wooden hull, the iron-cast cannons, the dark waves beneath.

Falling into oblivion…

Ninten let out a scream, and the world around him started to blur.

* * *

Ninten landed with a dull _thud_ on wood. The damp boards beneath him creaked under the weight. He bit the inside of his lip to distract himself from the pain and hopped up to his feet, holding his arms in a defensive position.

He stood back on the damp deck with the wooden handrails and tables that were curled by water damage. The same deck where he had spent days as a child sniffling and crying as George scolded him and running around carrying building blocks and toy cars with Mary.

Back to the place that had brought him so many smiles and tears.

Mary stood atop one of the wooden tables. Her armor looked like dull iron rather than the lustrous metal she had displayed back on the battlefield. Her blade started to dim. She hopped down off the table, landing on the wooden panels and raising her sword at Ninten.

Ninten made a quick glance around the wooden deck. No sign of his quarterstaff.

"Why did you take me back here?" Ninten said. "I thought you had me on the ropes back on that turtle ship."

Mary darted towards Ninten, knocking over chairs and tables as she barreled towards him. Ninten leapt out of the way, leaving Mary to bring her sword down on the damp handrail.

"Unless," Ninten said. "You didn't want to bring me here."

Mary grunted, and yanked the blade out of the wood. The handrail creaked and started to bend where Mary had driven her sword into it.

"What's going on here?" Ninten said. "Why can't you just finish me off?"

No PSI, no strength, no weapon. Ninten should have been a sitting duck.

"Changing the scenery hasn't helped you out at all," Ninten said. "Is it something that I'm doing?"

"Ninten." Mary lunged towards him. "Stop. Please."

Mary's sword became a blur. Ninten tried to dart out of the way, but different parts of his body lit up in pain as Mary continued to press the attack. Her arms and sword whirled around her, but her face remained still, her eyes wide and sad as she delivered each stroke of her luminous blade.

"I…" Ninten coughed, his lungs screaming in pain. "Change, world. Take me to George."

"No." Mary recoiled as if struck. "Ninten, you don't know what you're doing."

"Take me to George."

Mary swung her sword at Ninten's neck. It whizzed by his throat as he stepped back, leaning against the railing.

The world had shifted once when Mary had been about to split his skull open, and again when she had knocked him off of the warship.

Ninten looked at the sea below him. At this point, he didn't really have a choice but to take the gamble.

"Take me to George," Ninten said, and leaned back over the railing.

Ninten felt his feet leave ground, and the world started to spin around him. Was he just tumbling in air, or was the world morphing around him? Ninten saw the ocean rushing up to meet him, and closed his eyes.

"Take me to George," he repeated.

* * *

Ninten landed on solid ground.

He opened his eyes to see black around him. Not darkness, just… black. He could see his red t-shirt and pale skin cracked with gashes and scars, but nothing in the distance. A drop of blood rolled down his arm and off of his fingertip, falling past Ninten's feet down into the emptiness.

Ninten looked up to see Mary standing in the distance, her onyx eyes staring at him as her armor started to dim. The steel plates on her body faded into dark grey and then black before breaking off into thousands of dark specks and floating away into the black background. Her sword also lost its luster, curling up and turning into a dull metal cane as its edges started to dull.

Mary let out a cry, sinking down and catching herself on her sword-turned-cane. She let out a low growl and clutched her chest, looking up at Ninten.

"Where is George?" Ninten said. "I asked the world to-"

"I told you to stop," Mary said. "I told you to run. Now here we are."

She walked forward, rapping her metal cane on the black ground to make hollow sounds.

"You still don't get it, do you?" Mary said. "Your words asked the world to take you George, but your heart was asking for it to take you to the source of evil. So here we are. Welcome to my _real_ Magicant, Ninten."

Mary laughed, the dry sound echoing in the distance.

"What do you mean?" Ninten said. "I've seen you and George on the seaside deck. I know that's where you stay."

"That's where he brings me out when he needs me to talk to you." Mary walked closer still. "He trapped me inside this prison, Ninten. And now you're here with me."

Ninten felt his shoulders tense. He did remember Mary mentioning something along those lines.

"We need to get you out," Ninten said.

"I'll admit, I didn't think that your love for me would last this long." Mary pointed her cane at Ninten. "But the sands of time will wither away your feelings eventually. Anyone who stays near me will break down sooner or later. I just wish it had been sooner."

Ninten ran a finger down his arm and examined the red stains on his fingertips. "Battered, but not broken. That's how I'll stay."

Mary broke into a sprint, rushing towards Ninten with her twisted cane extended to her side. Ninten leapt back as Mary swung, the metal whizzing by his chest.

"You have to leave," Mary said. "You have to _leave._ "

"Not part of the deal."

"Please, Ninten. Before it's too late."

Ninten continued to back away from Mary. "Too late for what?"

"If you stay here long enough, you could be trapped in here with me."

"You're bluffing. That doesn't make any sense."

"Look into my eyes, Ninten, and tell me that I'm lying." Mary staggered forward. "I killed hundreds of people with my own two hands in World War II. I brought a war to my homeland that killed millions. I planned to kill my great-grandson so that I could live longer, and decided to take Claus' life instead. Every time I close my eyes, I hear their screams."

"Grandma, I already know all of this."

"I promised to tell you the truth," Mary said. "I _told_ you the truth. And I'm telling you the truth now. I don't understand it, but if you stay here then you'll be trapped with me."

Ninten took a deep breath.

"Please," Mary said. "You're not doing anyone a favor by sacrificing yourself when nobody's around to hear your screams."

"If people who enter this place get trapped, there must be a reason," Ninten said. "And we can overcome whatever's trying to keep us here."

"Oh, I'll tell you the reason." Mary lunged towards Ninten. "Everyone who encounters me ends up suffering for it."

Ninten started to step back, but Mary's cane slammed into his side. Ninten's vision flashed with pain, and he felt another blow land on his shoulder. Through the throbbing, he listened for sounds of a _crunch,_ and heard nothing.

It was probably good that Ninten could still register pain. If he got really injured, then he might not feel anything.

But then again, did anything inside the Nowhere Islands V-game work the same way that it did in real life?

And was Ninten really still inside the V-game?

"I destroy anyone who comes close," Mary said. "And there's not much closer to me a person can get than sharing my mind with me. If you don't leave, Ninten, I'll end up dragging you into oblivion with me."

Ninten gulped, looking at Mary through spots of pain in his vision. "I just wanted to see George."

"Yeah, because killing George is going to solve everything, right? We can all just go back to being a happy family if he's gone. No hard feelings."

"I didn't say that."

"But you were thinking it. You still don't understand that you should be looking at me in disgust right now. George may have hurt your feelings, Ninten, but he didn't plan to kill you. Why are you cutting me slack here?"

"Because you love me."

"Is that what you think?" Mary walked towards Ninten, cane extended in front of her. "Maybe I don't care about you. Maybe I was just using you all along."

"If you really believed that, then you wouldn't want me to leave and save myself."

Mary lashed out with her cane, slamming the steel into Ninten's jaw. For once, he didn't try to dodge.

"I don't think I love you," Mary said. "I don't think that I have the capacity to love anyone. You can only look into so many desperate eyes and hear so many shrieks before it starts to take away something from you, Ninten. I just think that I owe you something."

Mary smashed her cane into Ninten's hip. He took a deep breath and bit the inside of his cheek to distract himself from the pain.

"You feel that?" Mary said. "That didn't make me feel bad at all. I could watch you writhe in pain for hours and it wouldn't make me feel a thing."

Ninten looked up and saw the tightness in Mary's eyes, her stiff posture. She was locking herself in place, making herself stony and rigid so that she wouldn't let herself feel.

The cold person Mary claimed to be would feel more relaxed around pain and suffering.

"I'm worthless," Mary said. "The world won't lose anything by letting me go. _You_ won't lose anything by letting me go. So leave."

Ninten took a step forward. An image flashed in his mind.

 _A field of yellow-green grass swaying in the wind. She heard footsteps approaching, and looked over to see a group of men wearing dark green uniforms with guns slung over their backs approaching her. The man in front hesitated before opening his mouth._

 _"Are you Japanese?" he asked in German._

 _She nodded. Why not?_

 _The man's posture relaxed._

 _"So why are you here?"_

 _A moment of silence. She felt her fingertips tingling, ready to unleash a sea of flames on the soldiers. Would these men spread tales of her if she let them go? Could she take that risk?_

 _She released a sigh. She would have to kill them all._

Ninten's head throbbed as he returned to the present. Mary let out a yelp of pain and pressed her thumb and pointer finger against her temples. She took a deep breath and then shook the pain off, glancing over at Ninten.

"Did you see that?" she said.

"Was that one of your memories?"

Mary muttered a curse under her breath. "You saw. Why did you have to be the one to see it?"

"It felt like I was inside your head."

Mary looked down into the darkness beneath her feet, her eyes remaining fixated on a single point in the void.

"Did you actually kill those people?"

"Yes, I did." Rust started to appear on Mary's steel cane. "Are you starting to see who I am? I'm surprised that it's taken you this long."

"Those were Nazi soldiers, right?"

"They were _people_ ," Mary said, "With lives and families."

"I can't get to angry at you for killing Nazis."

"Do you think that every German soldier supported the regime?" Mary said. "Those people were pawns. Puppets. And I killed them all. Think about it, Ninten. That could have been you. And for a time, it was supposed to be you."

"Listen," Ninten said. "You don't have to keep bringing up the fact that you planned to kill me. You didn't, and instead you gave me a wonderful family to raise me. That's what matters."

"Go away." Mary took a step back, pointing her cane at Ninten. "Don't you see what's happening? My Magicant is pulling you in. It's going to trap you in here with me."

"And you can't control it?"

Mary let out a pained laugh. "I always thought I could control my power, Ninten. Turns out that it ended up controlling me."

"I thought George trapped you here. Is he doing this?"

"I don't…" Mary grimaced. "I don't _know_ what's going on. I just know that you don't want to be here. Please, save yourself and run. I don't think you have much time."

Mary's metal cane started to shrivel up like a dried stalk, curling in on itself until it shrank to the size of a kitchen knife. Mary's right hand was white from gripping the cane.

"I told you that I discovered PSI," Mary said. "I was also the first person to create a Magicant."

She forced a weak smile, looking up and around at the black background.

"It used to be a place filled with wonder and magic," she said. "But as time drew on, it started to show me images I wasn't ready to see. But I suppose I can't complain. Most of them were memories of times I hurt someone else. A Magicant's data comes directly from the PSI world, you know. I think that on some level, PSI itself was passing down judgment on me."

"So George…"

"George locked me away," Mary said, "Because I asked him to. Life in this Hell is what I deserve."

Ninten released a sigh. The pieces were starting to fit into place.

"I know that it probably doesn't make any sense to you why I wouldn't just state the truth from the start," Mary said, "But I guess I thought I could make you leave without regrets. I wanted you to feel good about leaving me to suffer. I suppose I put too much faith in hatred and not enough in love. And look where we are when love wins out."

Mary gestured to the darkness around her and laughed.

"I'm sure you wanted me to hate you," Ninten said, "But you promised to tell me the full truth from the start. Why didn't you tell me that you wanted to remain locked in your own mind?"

Mary's curled-up cane started to release specks of metal, shedding off more and more of itself until the darkness ate up the entire cane and Mary closed her hand to grasp only thin air.

"Ninten," she said. "Please, go now. I know that you want closure on this, but I can't let you go any further. Let Hinawa teach you how to erase the V-game, and live the rest of your life. Forget about me."

"Mary," Ninten said. "You never cared about yourself, did you? That's why you didn't tell me about how you were trapped here. Your own fate didn't matter as much as getting me to hate you."

Ninten started to walk towards Mary.

"No." Mary's eyes widened. "Stand back."

Ninten kept walking.

"My Magicant's going to destroy you just like it destroyed me."

Ninten kept walking.

"Please." Mary's body started to tremble. "I don't want to be saved. I want to die."

And there it was. The truth, laid bare after all the smiles and tears. The reason he was here.

Ninten took a step forward. Another set of images popped into his head.

 _A room painted white with a window looking out at the puffy clouds and blue sky. A man stood by the window, the light filtering in and casting his black suit in a dull glow. His hair was still jet black even as he turned around to reveal a face full of wrinkles._

 _"This is a complete farce, Mary. I know you've been hearing the stories. Forty percent of people in the prison camps dead from malnutrition."_

 _These were people that decades earlier, the man might have killed personally. She kept her mouth shut._

 _"That does it." The man gripped the windowsill so tightly that she thought he was going to break it. "I'm going to teleport over there and kill Kim Jong-Il."_

 _He said this before, of course, but something in his tone this time was final. No arguments._

 _But he had to listen to her, right?_

 _"They'll just pick someone else to rule in his place," she said. "Nothing will change. You know that, George."_

 _"I'll slaughter their entire family if I have to. I'll bring the entire country of North Korea down with my own two hands."_

 _"What happens if you kill Kim and the military seizes control? Will that make it better for the people?"_

 _"So what are we supposed to do? Stand by and twiddle our thumbs?"_

 _"We don't have a choice."_

 _"Fuck that. I should have crushed North Korea back in the Korean War. We were so close."_

 _"And yet so far. Once China started sending soldiers, what were we supposed to do?"_

 _"I could have crushed China too. Mao Zedong is another person I should have killed a long time ago."_

 _"Fought China and started World War III? At least we don't have to worry about Mao anymore."_

 _"He left a legacy of famine and lies, Mary. Just like Kim. I won't let North Korea hurt anyone else ever again."_

 _"George, please."_

 _"Don't beg, Mary. It's unseemly."_

 _"You're doing more harm than good. If you go down this route, then I'll have to stop you."_

 _His gaze snapped over towards her, and while his expression was neutral and his lips were drawn in a straight line, his eyes burned with a quiet rage._

 _"So that's how it is," the man said. "You know, for a time I thought that you cared. About me, Korea, the world, anything."_

 _"George, don't do this to me. I'm doing what I have to."_

 _"You're stopping me from doing the right thing. But isn't that what you've always done. Did you even try to stop the holocaust when you saw what was happening? When Seoul was crumbling, did you rush back in to fight the communists, or did you run away?"_

 _"George…"_

 _"What did you do in Cambodia when Pol Pot rose to power? What did you do in Russia when you found out about Stalin's gulag camps? At least I'm doing something."_

 _In that moment, she felt so small. So cold. Like the entire world was just out of her reach._

As quickly as it came, the vision faded away. Ninten heard Mary cry out and saw her crumple to the ground. Her hands, stretched out in front of her, started to seep into the darkness below.

Ninten ran forward, and Mary raised her head up as much as she could, biting her lip. As Ninten's steps sounded on the black ground and echoed throughout Mary's Magicant, she shook her head at him.

"It's happening," she said, her voice raspy. "It's dragging us in."

Ninten halted as he ran up to Mary, kneeling down next to her. She tensed her arms and tried to move her hands away from him, but they remained locked in the darkness. Ninten could barely see the joints of her fingers popping out from the black below.

"Did you forget everything I just did to you?" Mary said. "Even though I'm in pain, I'm still a monster. Don't waste your sympathy on me."

"Does this happen to you often when you're inside your own Magicant?" Ninten said.

"I just told you not to-"

"Please just answer, grandma."

Mary sighed. "Yes. Sometimes my mind just takes me to this place and I see all of the terrible things I've done. It will release me eventually. Sometimes it takes hours. Other times it takes weeks."

Mary closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her hands sank further into the darkness.

"Ninten. Please try to leave. You can't help me here even if you wanted to."

He supposed that it wouldn't hurt to see if she were bluffing about her Magicant trapping them both inside. Ninten stood up and closed his eyes, trying to push outwards with his consciousness. He counted his heartbeats and did his best to imagine his mind going up and out of the V-game.

Nothing. No tingling sensation, no feelings of detachment, no spinning. Ninten opened his eyes to see Mary looking up at him expectantly. After he shook his head at her, she laid her head on the ground and closed her eyes.

"So I guess that's it, then," she said.

"I'm sorry for taking us here," Ninten said. "I had no idea that me asking your mind to take us to George would end up with you here."

"No, it's my fault." Mary broke into a fit of dry coughs. "If I hadn't been so focused on how much I want to die, then maybe I would have been able to help you. Isn't that funny, Ninten? Even when I'm dead I can't bear the thought of existing."

"None of that is your fault," Ninten said. "I think a lot of people feel the same way as you, even if they don't want to talk about it."

"Those people deserve your sympathy," Mary said. "They didn't start wars and colonize islands in hopes of harvesting PSI-users from human populations."

"Grandma, I know that you're hurting. That's what matters."

Mary laughed, her arms and legs starting to sink into the darkness. "No, I'm not. I'm past the point of hurting."

"You're at the point where you're being dragged into the emptiness, where you wish you could hurt just so you know that you even exist. Is that right?"

Mary looked up at Ninten. "Well I wouldn't say it's that dramatic."

"You're literally being pulled into a pit of darkness, grandma."

"It will let me go. Eventually."

"But you don't have any control over it."

"I suppose I don't." Mary frowned. "But it's not like you should care. I tried to kill you in more ways than one."

"I'm trapped in the darkness with you unless you can find a way to get both of us out," Ninten said. "That's what matters to me."

"Trapped…" Mary pursed her lips as her arms sank further into the black floor. "Ninten, I'm sorry."

"You don't need to be sorry."

"I've failed you in every way as your great-grandmother. I thought just this once, I could actually make a difference and improve someone's life. But I guess some things never change. I'll always be the villain of the story."

"I don't see it that way."

"You're always too sweet to see the truth about me."

"How can you be the villain if none of these actions are really yours? In those memories of yours that you lived through, I could see that you felt powerless. Even in your Magicant, I was the one who was able to change the setting and force you to play by my terms."

"Didn't stop me from killing innocent people who greeted me and let me in back in that memory you saw." Her eyes narrowed. "And don't you dare tell me that they were just Nazis. They weren't given a choice on what to do once Hitler rose to power."

"And neither were you. You did everything you could to try and save the world. It wasn't your fault that North Korea invaded the South in the fifties and forced you and George to retaliate. It wasn't your fault that the American military kept everyone in the Nowhere Islands in prison camps after a fire broke out."

"Without me, the military would never have gotten a chance to hurt the Nowhere Islanders."

"But that doesn't make it your fault." Ninten placed a hand on Mary's shoulder. "We don't have to keep fighting each other, Mary. We can work together to accomplish something real."

"I've tried," Mary said. "I tried to make a difference in this world. Sometimes, you have to learn when to give up. Everything I did just made the world bleed."

"I know it's not so easy as killing a dictator over in North Korea," Ninten said, "But there has to be something we can do."

"I can't do it." Mary's elbow sank into the darkness. "I can't save the world. If I try I'll just end up destroying it. Earth can't afford to give me another chance. Better if I fade away entirely."

"Maybe it's not about fixing the whole world," Ninten said. "How about trying to save just one person?"

"If you think that helping a single person will overwrite all of the harm I've done, then maybe we don't understand each other at all."

"Maybe we don't need to understand each other. I don't think it's about what you've done in the past. If you can save one person, you can break the cycle of suffering. That's something that I had to live by when everything seemed lost in the Nowhere Islands V-game."

Mary's body fell still as it stopped sinking into the darkness.

"Just one person?" Mary said.

"Just one."

"Well, that I may be able to do."

Mary let out a yelp as she pulled her arms out of the darkness. Her hands and lower arms looked pale and stiff, and glowed with the sheen of marble. She lifted her knees and dragged her legs out of the darkness, wobbling to stand up straight.

"It hurts so much," she said. "I almost want to be back in the emptiness where I can't feel. But if you really think that I just need to save a single person, then I think I can take a break from being dragged into the darkness."

Ninten took a step back to give Mary some room. She stretched her arms up to the sky, and cracks started to run down her hands. Ninten bit his lip until he tasted blood. Maybe it was too risky for Mary to try and come out of the darkness into the world. If she broke now, Ninten didn't know if he would ever get her back.

"Thank you," Mary said, "For being the best great-grandson I could ever ask for."

Mary raised her hand up further into the sky, her fingers grasping at the air. A dagger appeared in her palm, and she closed her eyes as she held the blade in a shaky grip. She turned back to Ninten and took a deep breath.

"I can save one person," Mary said, opening her eyes.

She leaned forward and drove the dagger into Ninten's chest.

"I can save you, Ninten," she said, "From myself."


	23. Rock Bottom

**An update? From me? Who would have guessed? :D**

 **Anyways, a quick recap for everyone who can't remember what happened:**

 **-Ninten is inside the Nowhere Islands V-game, but inside of that he went into Mary's mind, and inside of that he's in some dark realm that symbolizes her depression (yeah it gets confusing)**

 **-Ninten was fighting Mary so that he could try and buy time to save her, while Mary wanted to kill Ninten inside the game because he promised not to come back if he did. Mary doesn't want Ninten suffering any more than he already has.**

 **-The last chapter ended with Mary stabbing Ninten.**

 **Well, enjoy the chapter! :)**

 **Review response: The Arisen:** We'll see if Ninten gets saved... either by someone else or his own doing. :)

* * *

Mary let go of the dagger buried in Ninten's chest and stepped away. Ninten stumbled backwards, his vision swimming. His consciousness started to drift away. Did death feel like this, or was this just his mind getting booted from the V-game?

"I'm sorry," Mary said. "Your grandmother just wants what's best for you, Ninten."

Ninten wrapped his fingers around the dagger's hilt, holding onto his last grip on reality.

"Leave the PSI company behind. Forget George and I ever existed. You're too good of a person to try and save the world like we did."

Ninten yanked the dagger out of his chest, gasping as his mind grew fuzzy, floating upwards out of his body.

"Grandma." Ninten's voice sounded hoarse in his ears. "We need to get you out of here."

Mary's hands fell to her side. "No, I need to get you out of here so that you don't have to stare into the darkness any longer."

Ninten walked forward, hunched over with a hand over his wound. "I want to look into the darkness side by side with you."

"If you can't even fight back against someone trying to kill you then there's no way you'll stand a chance against my Magicant trying to crush you."

Ninten gripped the dagger in his right hand as he walked up to Mary.

"Caring about someone isn't weak. I could hurt you if that really were the right thing to do."

"I'd like to see you try."

"You would?"

"Well, I know you don't have it in you to-"

Ninten slammed the dagger into Mary's stomach.

"Mm." Mary took a deep breath. "You're always full of surprises."

"I told you." Ninten could hear his words slur. "Caring about people isn't a weakness. Now let's get out of here together."

Mary stepped forward and pressed a hand against Ninten's chest. She muttered an incantation and dull green specks flitted off from her fingers before dissolving in the darkness. Ninten's vision started to clear up, but when he stepped back he nearly tripped and collapsed to the ground.

"My PSI hardly works here," Mary said. "That should keep you alive for a bit longer, but you're still dying."

"Well thanks for elongating the pain?"

"I can stab you again if you want." Mary's eyes narrowed. "But the only way we can get out of here is if you think of something that I haven't tried yet."

"I still can't promise that I'm in the best mindset right now."

"If at any point you'd like to abort this quest, you can take the dagger out of my stomach and slit your own throat. Or you can ask me to do so if you don't have the guts."

"How many people do I have to stab to convince you that I'm not a coward?"

"Not a coward." Mary ran a finger over the dagger's hilt. "Sane. Only broken people like me can bring themselves to end their own lives."

"Well maybe I'm broken too." Ninten glanced around at the emptiness. "George trapped you in here by your own request, right? What if you told him that you wanted out?"

"First of all, I still don't really want out. And why would George let me be free when he could keep me chained here?"

Fair point, given that this _was_ George.

"Are you dying too, grandma?"

"If this body of mine fails, I'll slip into the darkness until I get a new one." Mary held a quivering hand up to her face and smirked. "Not a big deal."

"Has it happened before?"

"I thought that you wanted us to get out of here."

"Grandma, if I can't understand your situation then I don't think that I can help you escape."

"I don't have time to tell you about the past 95 years of my life that led me here before you bleed out."

Ninten made a move to shake his head, but when his mind started to spin he sat down instead. He cupped his wound with one hand while bracing himself on the empty floor with the other.

"Ninten." Mary stepped forward until she towered right over him. "I can end the pain if you want."

"George locked you here because you asked him too, but you're just as powerful as he is, right?"

"More powerful, once. But it's not like I can lock him away from here."

"But could you use your PSI power to break free?"

Mary flexed her fingers, and a single spark flew off from the center of her palm before fading into the darkness.

"Guess that's a no." Mary smirked.

"Okay, but why?"

"I don't have any emotion to draw on from the PSI realm."

"But from my classes I learned-"

"That you need to clear your mind and be empty to use PSI, right? That's only because you need to make room for your spirit to enter your body. As you might imagine, it doesn't work when my spirit itself is drained."

"I'm not sure how much I buy into this whole spirit thing."

"You would have believed it when I put my spirit into your body. And if you still don't, then I guess we're stuck here."

Ninten fell flat on his back and closed his eyes. "So if we could find some way to heal your spirit, then you could break free?"

"Aww, are you going to try and give me a therapy session?"

"Are you making fun of me?"

"I just don't think you understand, Ninten. I'm glad that you're so optimistic, but a few minutes can't fill a void created over the course of a lifetime."

"We have to try something."

"I think it would be more useful for me to lie down like you and wait to die."

"Come on, grandma." Ninten opened his eyes and sat up. "You can do this. I'm here for you."

"If you think that all I needed was emotional support to feel whole again, then you must not have listened to a word I said." Mary met Ninten's gaze. "You'll understand later what it's like to lose everything you have, and then to watch as the world takes away parts of yourself that you didn't know were there."

"Maybe, but until then I'll work to help anyone I can. But if you honestly don't want to crawl out of his hole, then I doubt we could get you to a good enough mental state to break free."

"I…" Mary drew in a breath. "I don't know, Ninten. I want to escape if it will make you happy."

"I know I can't understand exactly what you're feeling, but I'm here for you, all right?"

Ninten stood up and extended a hand out towards Mary. She reeled away from his fingers as if they were knives, stepping back and bringing her hands up to defend her abdomen.

"Please, grandma." Ninten leaned forward. "Things will get better. I promise."

"If I escape, then you escape." Mary reached out, and then hesitated. "I have to do this for my baby boy."

Fingers quivering, Mary took Ninten's hand in her own. She looked up at him with the eyes of a beaten dog.

"Why is it still so cold?" Mary said.

Ninten felt Mary's pulse through her palm, a surge of warm blood that pressed up against his skin.

"I can't even cry." Mary turned away, but gripped onto Ninten's hand more tightly.

"Grandma, I've got you." Ninten placed his other hand on her shoulder. "You just need to feel good enough to get out of here and then things will get better."

"Why try and use me to escape now? It feels like you're only here to torment me for my sins, holding what I can't do over my head."

"I care about you. I believe that we can make it through this together."

"Then you've learned nothing."

Mary squeezed down, and Ninten squirmed as his fingers overlapped each other. He pried Mary's fingers away with his other hand and wiggled out of her grasp, rubbing the bruises on his knuckles.

"I'm sorry," Mary said. "This keeps going in circles, doesn't it? I want you to save me, I lose hope, I lash out at you and try to hurt you."

"It's not your fault."

"I'm just a monster. You know that people with mental illnesses aren't any more dangerous than regular people, right? If I'm hurting you then it's because I'm a bad person."

"I want to save you."

"You never change, do you? I see now why George was having second thoughts about you leading the PSI company. People with steadfast ideals are terrible at changing the world."

"Look down at your stomach."

Mary's eyes glanced down towards the dagger hilt sticking out of her shirt.

"I have it in me to inflict pain," Ninten said. "I have it in me to kill. I'll break any boundaries I need to. But the dirty secret is that I don't usually have to."

"There are no boundaries you can break to save me." Mary grasped the dagger hilt. "I'm sorry, Ninten. It's pointless. I don't think that you'll understand unless you want to go through what I'm feeling right now."

Ninten paused. "Is that a possibility?"

"I could switch parts of our minds," Mary said. "Just like how I would have used your body as a vessel for my spirit, but just not all the way. A part of you goes into my mind, and a part of mine goes into yours. That way, you could experience the emptiness firsthand."

"Okay, let's do that."

Mary took her hand off of the dagger hilt. "Ninten, I'll be bringing you into a state of severe depression. It's something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy."

"I would never want you to force depression on someone you hate. Do it for love instead."

Mary frowned. "Are you delirious?"

"I showed that I can hurt someone I love." Ninten gestured towards the dagger in Mary's stomach. "I think it's time for you to do the same."

"I already tried to kill you." Mary took a step back. "I won't go any further."

"I thought that people with steadfast ideals were terrible at making a difference, grandma."

"But why? You'll be hurting yourself for no reason."

"I'll see what it's like to be you. And then once I turn back to me, I'll have a better idea of what you need."

Mary looked down at the wound in Ninten's chest. "You might bleed out before then."

"So make it quick."

"You're honestly not going to back down on this, are you?"

Ninten grinned. "You know it."

Mary grunted and extended a palm forward. "Fine. But for the record, you're an idiot. PSI Soulstealer."

Ninten closed his eyes and braced himself for the emptiness to come.

* * *

Ninten hugged his arms, trying to wring the last bit of warmth from his hands. To his knowledge, the world hadn't actually gotten any colder, so this feeling must be coming from inside.

He had expected the cold to be sharp, frigid. But instead there was an absence. Maybe cold was the wrong word. In middle school he had learned that there was no real coldness in the universe, just heat and the lack of it.

He understood now how it felt to be without warmth.

Ninten looked around at the emptiness. The background could have been white, blue, or a tangerine sunset and it still wouldn't have reached inside of him. He felt his back hunch over. For a moment, he wanted to flail in the darkness forever, miles away from anyone who cared.

The next, he didn't even have the willpower to struggle. Ninten sat down on the invisible ground, looking into the black.

If only he could cry right now.

"Ninten, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done this."

Ninten continued to stare in the darkness.

"This isn't right. I can't do this to anyone, much less my own grandson."

"This," Ninten's voice sounded distant in his ears, "Is how you feel."

"I know, it's hopeless. We need to go back."

"How did you have the willpower to try and kill me?" Ninten exhaled slowly. "I couldn't force myself to stand up if my life depended on it."

"I just saw that you were going down the same path as me and George." Mary put a hand on Ninten's shoulder. "That you were trying to take on the world alone. I couldn't let it devour you like it did to us."

"So you tried to kill me," Ninten glanced up, "Out of love as well."

"I don't know if any words could apply to what I did." Mary met Ninten's gaze. "My eyes must looked that empty the whole time, didn't they?"

Rhetorical question or no, Ninten continued to stare at the darkness, this time with Mary in view.

"Why does your pain feel so good, Ninten?" Mary shuddered, closing her eyes. "I can taste the hope getting crushed again and again. I…"

Glistening tears came to Mary's eyes. "Why is everything so beautiful? People who write poetry about the emptiness must see the same way."

"Grandma."

"I know. I have to let go. These feelings were never mine to experience. Back I go."

"Grandma, it's okay."

"Welcome back, Ninten. PK Soul-"

The world phased out of existence, cutting off Mary's final word. Colors swirled around Ninten, banishing the darkness, until they finally coalesced into a full scene.

* * *

Ninten was sitting down back on the soaking deck as salt drifted in the air above the waves crashing into the side of the building. George stood near the entrance to the deck, leaning on a wet table, smirking.

"Mary was right, you know," George said. "You're a _massive_ fucking idiot."

Ninten leaned back onto the wet railing, feeling the damp wood dig into his back.

"Why would you ever want to take what she's feeling upon yourself? Stupid."

George strode over in his business suit and slapped Ninten across the cheek. The sting felt distant, like it couldn't possibly belong to Ninten. George grabbed onto his chin and tilted it up, inspecting Ninten's face.

"Do you know how many people are born as gifted with PSI as you? If only your powers had been granted to someone who wouldn't throw it all away." George shoved Ninten's head back. "But these days, all you kids are brats."

George released Ninten's head and stepped back, frowning. The silk sleeves of George's suit flapped in the breeze as he stood still. Ninten brushed his bangs aside before sitting up straight.

"I can't tell if you're real or not," Ninten said.

"Who even knows what's real down here?" The corners of George's mouth twitched upwards. "God, it's just like talking to her."

"I suppose that's what happens when I have part of her soul in me."

"There is no such thing as a soul." George's eyes narrowed. "PSI spirits are often misunderstood. There is nothing spiritual about them. Just a mess of code that results in a being too complicated to decipher with current technology, just like your body."

Ninten shrugged. "Didn't you send the cops after me, anyway? Why bother even talking to me?"

"A bluff. One that got you properly riled up. It warmed my heart a bit when you said that you wished that I were still alive so that you could strangle me. It's always nice knowing that your great-grandson is starting down the same path of success that you did."

"You're sick."

"Technically, you are the one who can now be diagnosed with a disease until Mary takes her soul back. Why let her break you, Ninten? Her bleeding heart makes her frail. She was never fit to serve on the UN or act as a spy during World War II. Leave her behind and I can show you how to truly change the world."

George extended a hand towards Ninten.

"I can't tell if you're sexist or just an asshole," Ninten said.

"Ahh, there's the hatred." George licked his lips. "Yes, give me more."

"Are you actually a Sith or something?"

"You'll never make it in the business world without loathing, Ninten. Anger is a fire that will keep you warmer than the largest hearth. Disgust will push you to save the world."

"Nope, you still sound like a movie villain."

"When you blew up at me for threatening to lock you up, I could tell that it wasn't because of anything that you would suffer. You were angry that I was feeding rape culture by adding more fake reports that would cast doubt on all of the actual times people have been assaulted, isn't that right?"

Ninten grunted.

"See, and this is more of a reaction than you gave Mary, who did her best to love you. The only thing that can cut through depression and emptiness is the burning passion of hate. So go on, Ninten. Change the world. Go fix the rape culture that I perpetrated. Dig yourself out of this hole and watch me wither away so that you can take over my company. But do so with a heart simmered by anger. Because when the hardest nights hit you, those feelings will be the fuel that keeps you going."

Ninten closed his eyes, hearing the distant sound of waves crashing on the shore and imagining the spray of white water.

"How about this?" George said. "If you kill me right here, I'll release the lock and bring both you and Mary out of that prison. But you have to enjoy watching me squirm in pain."

Ninten felt metal in his hand and opened his eyes to see the same dagger that he had used to stab Mary.

"I assume it won't be permanent," Ninten said.

"Otherwise I couldn't really release you from the prison." George cocked his head and smiled. "You said that you wanted to strangle me alive. Now's your chance."

Ninten tossed the dagger into the ocean. "No thanks."

"Well, you can always stop by in the office later, since the cops aren't actually chasing after you," George said, "Anytime you actually care about getting your great-grandmother out of her cage."

"I'd kill you if it would save Mary," Ninten said. "But I couldn't do it with anger in my heart."

"Your self-righteousness will wear down eventually." George ran a hand through his hair. "It does for everyone."

"It's not about thinking I'm better than everyone else," Ninten said. "Hating the world just tires me out."

"Well, not everyone can live in such a tranquil world as yours. Back in my day-"

"People suffered. People still suffer. I'll do my best to help them. I understand why they might be angry at the world. But me wearing myself out by screaming into the void doesn't help anyone."

Ninten stood up, looking George in the eye.

"I'll get Mary out of wherever you locked her," Ninten said, "But I won't do it by hating you. Caring about her is enough."

"Good luck with that. Without my prodding you would have curled up into a ball and stayed in one spot until you bled out."

"Don't take too much credit." Ninten forced an empty smile. "I just figured out how to get Mary out of her prison."

George snorted. "Come see me again in the office after you fail Goodbye."

With a wave of George's hand, the world started to spin around Ninten. Colors swirled before eventually fading, leaving Ninten alone with the emptiness. He looked down at his hands and wondered if even bedsheets looked so pale.

He reminded himself that he had promised Mary to leave the Nowhere Islands V-game forever if he died here. He only had one chance left before he bled out and got barred from seeing his great-grandmother ever again.

Time to make it count.

* * *

Mary appeared in the emptiness, wearing a black t-shirt and jeans.

"What happened after you vanished?" Mary said. "I thought that you might have died in here, and kept the depressed part of my mind with you."

"George whisked me away," Ninten said. "It doesn't matter."

"I should think that it does."

"What matters more is that I think I figured out how we're going to escape this prison."

Mary blinked, and then raised an eyebrow.

"I have to pass my heart onto the Dark Dragon," Ninten said.


	24. Queen Mary

"Ninten, are you okay? What did George do to you?"

"Grandma, I'm fi-" Ninten stumbled forward and rubbed his temples. "Well, maybe not fine, but I know what we need to do."

Mary frowned, leaning forward and feeling over the wet spot on Ninten's shirt over his chest wound.

"You're so pale," she said.

"Happens when your ancestors come from Europe."

"I'm serious, Ninten. Does it hurt?"

"Not like I'm imagining actual death would. Maybe this Magicant has some mercy."

"Or maybe it's already drained everything out of us."

"Possible." Ninten smirked. "You know how you put part of your mind in my body? Well, I think we should-"

"Right." Mary extended her hands forward. "I need to take it and give you back the part of your mind."

"You should put more of your mind inside of my body."

Mary frowned. "Ninten?"

Ninten put a hand over his chest. His heartbeat sounded distant in his own ears, and the warm air gave him goosebumps. He could still look inside and see the part of Mary's spirit that she had given him, the part that was an abyss that led to the depths of the ocean.

Ninten had struggled with depression before, of course, but it really did take experiencing Mary's mind in person to understand why she couldn't feel better with a pep talk and a pat on the back. Some wounds cut so deep that slapping a band-aid on couldn't stop the internal bleeding.

But maybe Mary didn't have to be in perfect health.

"This is what friends are for," Ninten said. "Come on, grandma. I can take more of your mind."

"It's not about whether or not you can." Mary leaned back. "I'm not going to risk me messing with your mind any more. I'm going to take the part of me back and wither away until I fade into the spirit world. Nobody else gets a second chance at existence, so why should I try and preserve mine? When you get to my age, you'll realize what I mean when I say that I'm ready to go."

"Except that's not what you were saying before. Accepting death is different than hating life and wanting to kill yourself." A pang shot up through Ninten's chest. "We really don't have much time, grandma. Please."

"Is it too much to assume that you actually have a plan?"

"Just a realization. You're powerful enough to break free but you can't because of your mental state, right? So just shift enough of your mind over to me so that we're both in the same body. We can use my emotions and your PSI power."

"Now's not a time to be experimenting with your soul, Ninten. I won't let a mistake on my part cost you decades of future happiness."

"Please." Ninten extended his hand. "Join me, grandma."

"Why do you care so much about someone who's already dead?"

"Because to break the cycle of suffering, I only need to save one person."

"I know all of these different psyspaces and V-games make it confusing to figure out where we actually are, but this world is separate from the Nowhere Islands game. The rules don't apply here."

"I'm not expecting a V-game to pop out and reward me if we save ourselves," Ninten said, "But helping you is the right thing to do. And I don't think I need to save the whole world to make a difference. Maybe one person is enough."

"Should have chosen someone who deserved it then."

"Sometimes it's not about deserve." Ninten smiled. "Please, grandma. I'm here for whatever you need."

"You know, I could just let you die in here and know that you'll live out the rest of your life without having to worry about me shifting around your mind. Why should I care about myself in comparison? I would have died for you when I was alive, and I'll certainly fade into the darkness now if it means you'll be safe."

"Except I won't be. Not when I have to deal with George. Not when I have to run a PSI company and corporate hawks all across the world will look to exploit a rosy-faced boy in his twenties or thirties. If you leave me now, I'll be all alone."

Mary's eyes narrowed. "Guilt-tripping just makes you look manipulative."

"I want to save you, grandma. And I think that you can save me too. I can't promise anything, but I think you'll feel a bit more complete after helping someone along in life."

Mary paused, and looked down at the dagger sticking in her stomach.

"That's right," Ninten said. "I can be brutal when I have to be. But now's not the time. We can save each other, grandma. I trust you to pilot my body and get us out of here."

Mary drew in a breath and ripped the dagger out of her body.

"Grandma, what are you-"

Mary whipped an arm forward and grabbed onto Ninten's shoulder, her fingers digging into his shoulder blade. She looked at him with wide, obsidian eyes, and a single tear ran down each of her cheeks.

"Thank you," she said, "For letting me try this. PK Soulstealer."

Ninten and Mary stood still for what felt like minutes, her dewy eyes looking into his own. After the pause, without a warning, Mary's body collapsed. Ninten's body bent down and his arm fell onto Mary's stomach, but the motions weren't his own.

 _"You can still control your body, Ninten. But we'll have to take turns making motions."_ The voice sounded like Mary was whispering in his ear.

"Lifeup Omega." Ninten felt his lips open and close. The sound was his, but the movements were not.

The wound on Mary's stomach vanished, and the throbbing in Ninten's chest subsided, leaving a serene coolness like diving into a lake on a hot day.

 _"Some of the earlier V-games were like this, you know. Where you controlled a sprite and could only perform certain motions, and their walking was set where it felt like your legs were moving but they were controlling it."_

"Grandma, is there a way for me to talk back in my mind?"

 _"Oh, just use telepathy. You can draw on my PSI energy storage."_

Ninten took a deep breath. _"Like this?"_

 _"Perfect. Now comes the dangerous part. If you're afraid of me losing control of the massive PSI power needed to break out and damaging your mind, feel free to back out now."_

 _"Like hell I will. We've gotten this far, haven't we?"_

 _"That's not really a logical argument."_

 _"Whatever. I'm in."_

 _"All right, then can I have you raise your hands like you're holding up a ceiling?"_

 _"Um."_

 _"I'll deal with the mental part of the PSI, but I think it will be better if you go through the physical motions just so that we don't clash."_

 _"You don't trust me to stay still?"_

 _"To be honest, not really."_

 _"Ouch."_

Ninten smiled and held his hands up, palms facing the blackened sky.

 _"All right, now all that you can do is trust me to get us out of here."_

"I do."

 _"Well, guess none of the times I tried to kill you really stuck. I don't know what I did to deserve a great-grandson like you."_

"Hey, I'm just doing whatever I can. Have to try and break the cycle of suffering somehow, you know?"

 _"I suppose that's true. Ninten?"_

"Yeah?"

 _"No matter how this goes, I just wanted to say thanks for everything."_

The words "PK Starstorm" escaped from Ninten's lips, floating up into the darkness.

Ninten sat down, watching as radiant white orbs fell from the sky, tearing holes in the black fabric. The orbs started to glow soft reds and cool blues, sunset orange and forest brown. More descended from the sky, and some rose up from beneath the floor, sparkling in the distance.

He used telepathy to try and read Mary's mind inside of his own. Brows metaphorically knotted, of course, and Ninten saw a sea of red fear in his mind under Mary's iron focus. His heart started pounding in his chest, and his hairs stood on end, neither of which came from Ninten himself.

But beneath the anxiety, Ninten's telepathy picked up on starlit hope.

 _"I'm going to get us out of there, Ninten. And then I'm going to save you."_

Ninten closed his eyes.

 _"I love you, Ninten."_

"I love you too, grandma."

* * *

Ninten started awake on a floor made out of pink stone. He hopped to his feet and looked around. Outside a shimmering window he saw a world full of pink clouds with steel spires stretching up and grasping at the twinkling stars.

"Grandma? Are you still inside of my body?"

Ninten surveyed the golden chandeliers hanging from the milky pink ceiling.

"Mary?"

"Well, well. I guess I shouldn't have underestimated you."

Ninten whirled around to see George smirking at him, hair slicked back and hand over his diamond-studded watch.

"What happened to grandma?"

Mary's body materialized on the pink floor the next moment. She stuttered awake with a gasp, holding her hands over her chest. Ninten ran over and knelt down next to her. She looked at him and strained her face as she smiled.

"Thank you." Her voice sounded withered.

"I confess," George said, "I never thought that this would happen. Not that you would figure out that you could combine your minds, but that even you would be foolish enough to try."

Ninten turned around. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Betting your life for a dollar isn't a good choice even if you win."

"That's the value you put on your wife?"

"As a hypothetical, boy. Who let you into college in the first place?"

"George." Mary rose to her feet. "Stop."

"Grandma, I'm used to it by now."

George laughed. "So the boy sparked something in you, did he? Well I guess he was useful for something. Leave it to two sentimental people to bounce off of each other and grow attached. It's unfortunate that you two had to be so gifted in PSI. Real people could have used those powers, but of course it falls to me to save your bleeding hearts."

"You didn't save anyone," Mary said. "Get out of my Magicant and go crawl back into your hole."

Ninten looked around at the pink bricks of the wall. Mary must have been a bit… out there when she crafted this place.

"Oh yes, my queen." George chuckled and got down onto one knee. "All behold your glorious return!"

"Shut up. Have you been occupying the throne in the years of my absence?"

"Queen?" Ninten looked at Mary. "Throne?"

"I suppose she wouldn't have told you anything," George said. "Mary was the first person to meet Giygas and the Starmen, and they granted her this psyspace and named her queen. Called it 'Magicant' or some other bullshit."

"This is the first Magicant," Mary said. "George and I learned how to use PSI here. And we also found that it has some… special properties. Which George has abused, by the way."

"The starmen wouldn't give us tools if we weren't supposed to use them, Mary. I guess some people can't grow spines even if the fate of the world depends on it."

"Like you've done anything to help the world while I was gone."

"What are you two talking about now?" Ninten said. "I swear, the past couple of days has been enough for me. If this is a bigger deal than you both being dead then I swear I'm going to flip out."

"We'll see what you think," George said. Turning to Mary, "Well? If he's going to take over the PSI company one day then he should know."

"I have no problems with showing him."

"Show me what?"

"Come on, Ninten," Mary said. "It's time to introduce you to a place you'll probably be visiting often in the future."

(ILH)

Outside the pink castle, Magicant's sky shimmered with green auroras while stars pulsated close to the heavens. The ground underneath Ninten's feet was a fluffy pink, and he only sunk into the ground as much as if he were standing on a gym mat. Mary ran a hand over wisps of pink that fluffed up above the surface. George picked up a red weed on the ground, and after examining it put it in his pocket.

"I'm not sure why you are turning the cold shoulder to teleportation," George said. "If you need proof, I can calculate the time it will save compared to walking."

"I want Ninten to get a good view of this place." Mary started off away from the castle.

"Stubborn little-" George shook his head and followed, with Ninten jogging to catch up.

"So," Ninten said, looking over at his great-grandfather.

"So?"

"Why aren't you and Mary at each other's throats after you put her in that mind prison thing?"

"She actually asked me to. Crazy, huh?"

"Yeah, but it sounded like she didn't want to stay trapped there for all those years."

George shrugged, brushing a piece of pink fluff off of his arm. "The deal was she would stay there until she faded into the PSI realm. Not my problem that she was having second thoughts."

"You're the worst."

George grinned. "Thank you."

"I feel like a couple hours ago you would have blown up at me for saying that."

"Well anyone who can drive a dagger into his great-grandmother's stomach isn't a boy any longer. You have my respect, Ninten."

George's hungry smile sent a nauseous feeling bubbling up from Ninten's stomach. Ninten looked over at the figure Mary walking through the pink clouds, clad in black with the suave stride of a modern businesswoman.

"I'm still surprised that she's not keeping an eye on you," Ninten said.

"Then you're still an idiot. Are your PSI senses really that dull?"

Ninten continued to walk forward.

"She's reading every little bit of my mind," George said. "If I even _think_ about harming you she'll probably blast me to smithereens."

Ninten kept his mouth shut. Either Mary's PSI had returned and he had no reason to worry, or she was bluffing and Ninten shouldn't give away her game.

"You've been thinking about harming just about everyone on Earth, so evidently you're exaggerating," Mary said.

"Well, not like I can control which thoughts pop up in my mind." George smiled. "Isn't that right, Ninten?"

"I'm not sure what you're implying," Ninten said, "But I don't think I like it."

"Oh, I'm sure you have dirty thoughts all the time that you hide behind your cute little smile. Who's that middle-class friend you always spend time with? Ashley?"

"Ana."

"Right. I'm sure you've thought about doing some _things_ with her." Smirk. "And I'd bet she'd like it too. Getting real close with someone who could become one of the most powerful men in the world."

"George." Mary whirled around. "I'm not going to warn you again."

"What? We both know it's true. All boys his age are the same. And all girls too, to be honest."

"We're almost there," Mary said. "If I have to beat the shit out of you in front of my grandson I'll be disappointed."

What a model relationship. Ninten tried to imagine seventy plus years of listening to these conversations and a chill ran down his spine.

Mary led George and Ninten along a river that glowed ice blue as the glassy liquid parted around pink stones. Ninten paused for a second and jogged to catch back up with his great-grandparents.

"It will all start to look bland before long," George said. "Trust me."

"Why don't you just stop talking?" Mary said.

After a few more minutes of walking, Mary halted at a fountain with the same ice blue wisps floating off from the water as a river circled around most of the water feature, leaving only a thin pathway to the marble spring.

"Ninten, please stand a few steps back," Mary said.

"Why would I want to harm him?" George said. "Seriously. He's at least useful for a future of running the PSI company, unlike someone I know."

"I thought I told you to stop talking." Mary took a deep breath and looked down into the fountain water

"I think that it will be best to demonstrate," George said. "Mary, I'm sure you know what I'm thinking about."

"For once, I think that your line of reasoning makes sense." Mary stepped up to the fountain and closed her eyes.

George looked down at his watch, and then up at Mary. Ninten kept his eyes trained on George, waiting for a move. After a few moments, Ninten saw bubbles rising from the bottom of the fountain. Mary released a deep breath and turned back to face Ninten and George.

The next moment, Claus and Lucas materialized in front of her, Lucas standing half a head taller.

"As you can see," Mary said, "This fountain can connect between psyspaces and call people. Thank you two for joining us."

"Never thought I'd see this place again." Claus looked up at the sky. "Oooh."

The image of Claus playing and laughing with Dragos in the V-game popped into Ninten's head. Maybe not so different after all.

"Hmm." Lucas's eyes narrowed. "It's quite something to meet the person who ruined my family in person. Posthumously, no less."

"George also figured out how to build a new psyspace inside of this one and allow it to be executed in any other psyspace," Mary said, "Like we did for the Nowhere Islands V-game. It probably seemed like you were going to psyspace inside of psyspace inside of psyspace, but really you were just moving from one to the other."

"Can confirm," Lucas said. "This definitely isn't in my Magicant."

"The fountain," George said, "Can even bring people's spirits back from the dead."

Ninten frowned. "Bring people back? But they have to transfer their own spirit into their psyspace first, right?"

"Nope. Anyone from history, you can bring back through here." George shrugged. "If you know how."

"I don't believe you."

"Come on, Ninten," Claus said. "How do you think that they got me and my mother into the V-game in the first place?"

Ninten looked over from Claus to Mary to Lucas, the last of whom offered a shrug.

"Well, shit," Ninten said. "Like I didn't have enough to worry about before."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** **Hey, everyone. :) I'm back with another (short) chapter. I'm not sure how I felt about the pacing of this one, but I couldn't really find a way to improve it. If it wasn't obvious, the "first" Magicant shown here is the Magicant from Mother 1/EarthBound Beginnings where Mary is the queen with amnesia. I also wanted to include the fountain as a little touch. Originally I even had a comment about transferring money like what it was used for in Mother 1 but it didn't feel relevant to the story so I cut it unfortunately.**

 **It was also hard for me to write about depression/mental illness in general because it's not great for storytelling. Stories are all about feeling like there's a sense of progress and that the characters are moving forward, but the reality is that depression doesn't really work that way, and showing it improve over a short time in a way that's satisfying for the narrative would be untrue to many people's experiences. So instead I used PSI to get around that point and provide a temporary solution for Mary's depression that could move the plot forward. I think it worked out okay, but please do let me know how you feel about the story! :)**

 **As a final note, it was really hard for me to come up with a big huge climax since both the Claus fight to find Lucas' location and the Mary fight were supposed to be that way, but neither of them really ended up being super climactic. I need to resolve everything so while I'll do my best to provide high stakes at the end I think we've had enough "final battles" for this fic. Just a heads up. :)**

 **See you later! And thank you for sticking with my story this far. It really does mean the world to me.**


	25. I Still Believe

"Ninten," Lucas said, his gaze level. "Remember what you promised me."

George snorted. "Keeping your little afterlife a secret from me? I'm almost hurt that you didn't think I could find out on my own."

Lucas' blue eyes met Ninten's own. Not the literal promise of keeping Lucas' Magicant a secret, then, but an unspoken commitment that went deeper.

Keep powerful tools hidden so that they couldn't be abused by the rich.

"Why did you bring Claus and my mother back from the spirit world?" Lucas said, glancing at George. "At this point, I'm willing to chalk it up to sick pleasure from tormenting the people under your boot even after death."

"My reason is the same as always." George walked past Lucas and looked into the blue fountain water. "I want to save the world."

"The only reason that the world needs saving is because your meddling." Lucas jabbed a thumb at Mary. "You and her."

"Without us, the world would have gone up in flames decades ago. Unless you were the one who balanced a cold war on the verge of tipping into a nuclear apocalypse, that is."

"Tazmily would have been fine in a nuclear war if you hadn't found us," Claus said. "I wonder if our ancestors were right. Maybe we should all go back to simpler lives without bombs and gold."

"And give up our medicine as well?" Lucas said. "Resort to tribal warfare where millions of people bleed out from infections? Go back to a world of starvation and torture? Our ancestors were weak-spined, short-sighed people. But that doesn't excuse these two hawks here from coming in and stealing everything except the dirt beneath our feet."

"I feel the sins crawling on my back every day," Mary said. "I am sure that I will face judgment. But I'm trying to give just a little bit back."

"I don't think that we should take the chance." Lucas looked over at Ninten. "Ana told me about what happened inside the V-game. Is this what happens when you save her? You should have left her to rot in her little cell."

"Lucas." Claus crossed his arms. "Think of what mother would have said."

"You've seen our mother. I think she'd love to squeeze the life out of the person who took you away from us."

"That's not who she really is, Lucas. You know that."

"All I know is that you can't change to keep up with reality. Mother and I became hard people because we didn't have a choice. But you'd rather cling onto the lies that our ancestors passed down."

"Why do you have to be you so cold?"

"I'm just tired." Lucas glared at Mary. "And once you give an American an inch, they'll take the whole rope. My mother told me that there was a way to dissolve a Magicant, and I'll do it with yours."

"Hinawa also told me that I'm the only person powerful enough to learn the technique," Ninten said, "And I'm not wiping out anyone."

Lucas sighed. "I was hoping for more from you, Ninten. But I guess experiencing what we've suffered in a V-game is different from really living it."

"You know, Lucas," George said. "That's a great point. I think I could use your help."

"Is that so." Lucas' gaze remained trained on Ninten.

"But first," George said, "I have to thank you, Claus, for helping me with my prototype."

"Me?" Claus pointed to himself. "What did I do?"

"We would have preferred Lucas' innocent little mind to toy with, of course, but yours made do basically as well."

"I don't…" Claus looked over at Mary, and then Ninten.

"When you messed with Claus' mind to try and make him a vessel for Mary," Ninten said. "What did you actually do?"

"Oh, I'm glad you asked." George's expression turned sunny. "You see, when Mary was experimenting with poor Claus' psyche, she tried to empty parts of his mind and store them in data files. His brain was able to fill in the gaps, and Claus retained his memories, and now we just had massive data files filled with his thoughts and impressions. What a failure."

Claus bit his lip, and Ninten walked over to squeeze his hand.

"Except," George said, "Even though Mary couldn't empty his mind to take over his body, I was able to build a world out of his thoughts."

"Ah," Lucas said. "I was wondering why the Nowhere Islands V-game was like that?"

"Like what?" Ninten said.

"Pigmasks. Mr. Saturns. Whimsy stuck in a plot of imperialism and tragedy. Like a child's view of a world collapsing around them. And it turns out that in this case, that's exactly what it was."

"Lucas, I don't understand." Claus leaned closer to Ninten. "What are you saying?"

"Isn't it obvious at this point?" Lucas looked over at George. "Correct me if what I'm saying is wrong. Mary tried to suck your mind out of your body, Claus. Didn't work, but George used the bits to create a Magicant inside of this place based on your ideas of what was happening. He then called you and mother back, along with a few others like Isaac, to experiment with how you would live in a virtual world."

George clapped. "Bravo. You're really everything that I thought you would be and more, Lucas. You've come a long way from praying to the Dark Dragon to protect you."

"So," Claus shied back, "The Nowhere Islands V-game is _my_ world?"

"A world based on your memories," George said. "I'm surprised you didn't figure it out. You thought that Americans were greedy pigs. Thus, pigmasks. The world even has modules for fey spirits with PSI powers called Magypsies. I could go on and on."

"So all the torment that you faced there was my fault too," Mary said, shaking her head. "Heh."

"Which leads into why I need your help, Lucas," George said. "I've tried to save the world, but it's clear that I can't stop the bleeding. Ecosystems are collapsing, human populations keep growing and growing until there will be no more resources left."

"What are you going to do about it?" Lucas said. "Kill a bunch of people?"

"I considered it," George said, "But there's a better way."

"So," Ninten said. "I was always wondering why that one part of the V-game always felt so out of place."

Lucas' eyes lit up. "So you mean to-"

"I think that Claus and I are still lost here," Mary said.

"Look at this world around us," George said, gesturing outwards. "Beautiful isn't it? You said so yourself, Claus."

"Uh, yeah." Claus shrugged. "I guess."

"We get it," Ninten said. "You've already told us your plan, Namiko."

George flashed whitened teeth while Mary's eyes narrowed.

"Good," George said. "A little bit of perception doesn't hurt in the business world. But Namiko was a foolish person. It's so much easier just to watch the world burn than to try and destroy it myself. And trust me, I can smell the smoke in the distance."

"Wait," Claus said. "The part of the V-game with the world leaders was taken from your mind?"

"With a few alterations, of course. Trust me, a future will come when people gladly transfer their spirits to a virtual world in order to escape the collapse of our planet. Namiko was thinking to small in giving everyone a domain inside of their own minds. Once I unlock the powers behind the fountain that the starmen granted us, I can create an entire universe where people can travel between worlds and see their loved ones again. I can bring spirits back from the dead and erase tragedies." George straightened his tie. "I can become God."

"I can't think of anyone I would want less as a god," Ninten said.

"I can." Lucas glanced at Mary.

"That's why I need your help, Lucas," George said. "The Nowhere Islands V-game isn't perfect. I can make my own universe and tune it until it is. But to create worlds like the Nowhere Islands, we need small amounts of data from people's PSI spirits."

"And you want some of mine?"

"I promise that you won't notice the difference."

"Lucas." Claus stepped forward. "Please, don't listen to him. The only difference between him and Mary is that he doesn't feel any guilt for what he's done."

"Why would I be guilty for saving the world?" George drew his lips into a thin smile. "I wasn't the one who invaded your homeland, Lucas. I wasn't the one who took your brother and drained everything out of him."

"But you did bring me and mother back here just to torment us," Claus said.

"And would you prefer to be dead, floating with the other spirits?"

Claus fell silent.

"We can arrange that, you know," George said, glancing at the fountain. "In the same way we drew you from the spirit world, we can send you back."

Lucas' eyes lit up. "How?"

"The fountain acts as a gate, so I just need to set the destination to the spirit world using PSI. So how about it, Claus? I can do the same with your mother."

"I…"

"Stop it, George," Mary said.

"Stop what? I'm obviously a terrible person for bringing Claus' existence back, so it's time to correct my wrongs." George stepped forward, and Claus leaned back. "Unless… I'm actually the good guy here?"

"Claus was able to make the best of the bad situation you put him into," Ninten said. "You don't get to take any of the credit."

"And he wouldn't have been able to make the best of anything without me." George fixed his suit cuffs. "Your bias is showing, Ninten. Contrary to what you force yourself to believe, I'm not the monster here."

"You literally wanted me to channel my hatred not an hour ago."

"If hate didn't have uses then we wouldn't have evolved it."

"It doesn't seem like we're getting anywhere," Lucas said. "So George, I'll help you with your experimentation and creating worlds for people to upload their spirits into. But I have one condition."

"Let's hear it."

"We send Mary to the spirit world to the fountain and get rid of her for good."

By the time Ninten had registered what Lucas had said, George had already nodded. Mary raised her hands up to defend her chest, and George stepped forward while cracking his knuckles.

"PK Beam gamma," George said.

A white ray shot out from George's fingertips, slamming into Mary's abdomen. Her knees buckled and she crumpled to the ground.

"You shouldn't have given Ninten his mind back," George said, nudging Mary's limp body with her foot. "But of course, you _would_ be too self-righteous to keep channeling Ninten's emotions for your PSI."

Ninten glanced over at Lucas' still body and neutral expression before darting towards his great-grandfather.

George waved a hand. "Paralysis alpha."

Ninten's body froze, and his fingers twitched as he tried to force his legs to move forward.

Claus rushed over. "Ninten, are you okay?"

George repeated the PSI move and Claus' body fell still as well. He twitched his head over to look at Lucas, and Ninten thought he saw a sad smile on Lucas' face out of the corner of his eye. Lucas walked up to George, his feet kicking up puffs of pink fluff.

"May I do the honors?" Lucas said.

"All yours."

"Lucas, please," Claus said, his voice strained.

"I'm doing what you never had the guts to," Lucas said. "I'm taking out our real enemy once and for all."

Lucas inhaled, heaving Mary's unconscious body onto his shoulder.

"Is the fountain set to expel Mary's spirit back into the world of the dead?"

"Give me a second." George shoved a palm towards the fountain, and water started to bubble. "All set up."

"Perfect."

Lucas dropped Mary's body and shot a force blast at George that warped the air between them. While George was reeling, Lucas darted over and grabbed onto his shoulders, Lucas' fingernails digging into George's black suit.

"You should have looked deeper into my mind with your telepathy to see who I meant by 'real enemy'," Lucas said.

He slammed George's shoulders down, dipping George's face in the fountain. George kicked and moved his hands in a precise circle to manifest a PSI ability, but as fire started to blossom out from George's hands he vanished into white wisps that floated up for a second before dissolving in the sky.

The world fell silent. Lucas took heavy breaths, stepping away from the now empty fountain.

"I think we can all agree that I just made the world a better place," Lucas said.

Claus gulped. "I'm sorry I doubted you."

"Don't apologize yet." Lucas walked over to Mary's body.

"Please," Ninten said. "Mary's powerful. If you spare her then we can use her influence to help the people of the Nowhere Islands."

"The Nowhere Islands can rot in hell for all I care. My ancestors probably slaughtered on the natives who lived there even more brutally than you Americans are bleeding us out. All I know is that I can't afford to trust someone who will sacrifice an entire island for her own gains."

"She's hurting too, Lucas. We just need to take a bit of time to-"

"Oh, so because the imperialist feels sad too it's okay that she destroyed everything we had? Forgive me for not breaking into tears at the thought of the white man's burden."

Lucas hoisted Mary's body back up over his shoulder and walked over to the fountain. After a pause, he turned back to Ninten.

"You know, I bet this fountain might also work on people who are still alive. It could be a handy way to make sure that some people don't misuse the dangerous information they've stumbled upon."

A chill ran down Ninten's spine. Lucas let Mary's body slide off his shoulder and walked over to Ninten.

"Even if you mean well, Ninten, I think that your bleeding heart will lead you to try and save dying people by letting them upload their PSI spirits to their own Magicants. And a secret like that from someone who might run a PSI corporation doesn't say under the blanket for long."

"If you kill me, you're not any different from Mary," Ninten said, "Doing bad things because you think it could lead to a greater good."

Lucas smiled. "Perhaps. I've never claimed to be a good person, Ninten. But I am sorry for this. I'll put you to sleep so that it will be painless, all right? Hypno-"

"Lucas, think about what you're _doing,_ " came a voice from the side.

Claus stumbled up from his hands and knees to his feet, his legs shaking as he jabbed a finger at Lucas with wide eyes.

"You know that he doesn't deserve this," Claus said.

"Please," Lucas sighed, "Stop acting like a child. I thought we both moved past this."

"Take me instead." Claus dragged himself in front of Ninten.

"You know, I think I finally understand the difference between us," Lucas said. "I've moved on from what happened in the past, and you're actively regressing back into who you were. I don't know if you're trying to remind me of when you volunteered to take my place when the Americans wanted to experiment on me, but if so then you're honestly an idiot. If you had just let me die like I was supposed to, none of this would have happened."

"Then we'll fight you." Claus balled his hands into fists. "We'll find some way to work through this. Ninten, can you remove our paralysis?"

Ninten checked his PSI energy just to make sure. "I used up everything."

"Isn't it so perfect when your enemies spend everything trying to kill each other?" Lucas smiled. "Now stand aside, Claus. I won't ask a second time."

"Ninten showed me what I can do while I'm still here. You were watching too, weren't you?"

"I did see him stumble through the Nowhere Islands, same as I did on my actual quest."

"Do you remember how he smiled when he saved that Mr. Saturn?"

"I remember recognizing the symptoms of delirium, yes."

"The wingbeat of a butterfly." Claus closed his eyes. "The veins of a maple leaf."

"What?"

"Those are the reasons to live."

Lucas blinked.

"You know," Claus said, "He actually sat down on the beach and had a conversation with me, just like we used to. I still remember how soft the sand felt on my fingers."

"Claus, if this is some sort of distraction…"

"I'm not letting those moments go. And those moments are special because I share them with people. There has to be something that you care about too, Lucas. Didn't you pray to the Dark Dragon to protect _all_ life?"

"I'm no longer chained by who I was a lifetime ago."

Ninten looked back and forth between Lucas and Claus. Probably better not to remind Lucas of his presence. He looked over at Mary's limp body by the fountain and took a deep breath. Come on, Claus.

"I know that deep down, you still care," Claus said. "And I'll be here for as long as it takes until you find your way. That's what friends are for."

Lucas frowned. "Friends?"

"I'm sorry if I made things harder for you by sacrificing myself in your place," Claus said. "But I did it because I believed in you. I had faith that you could turn into the sunny, kind person that you wanted to be if you just had a little more time away from the scary Americans."

"You're talking nonsense." Lucas turned away. "But I guess if you're going to these lengths to try and save Ninten, then I guess I won't break your heart. He can live, but one more comment about saving Mary and I kill them both."

Claus stumbled forward, grimacing with each stiff step that he took. After a few strides, Claus opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out. He toppled forward and collapsed onto the ground at Lucas' feet. He gasped, opening and closing his hands while squeezing his eyes shut in pain. Claus hopped to his feet, wobbling and rubbing his head with rigid fingers.

"Lucas," Claus said. "I still believe in you."

"You…" Lucas frowned. "I'm glad that you do?"

"Lucas," Ninten said. "Mary said that she couldn't bring herself to hurt you when she saw you pray to the Dark Dragon to protect all life."

"Oh, so she's a murderous war hawk but since she didn't crush a single life it's all okay?"

"Not okay," Ninten said, "But every person matters. You, me, Claus, and even her."

"Keep your mouth shut or you're the next one in the fountain."

"Please," Claus said. "Nobody else needs to die today."

Lucas sighed. "Why did I have a sneaking suspicion that you two would risk Ninten's life just to slip in a comment about saving a mass murderer?"

"Because we care," Ninten said. "And we think that there's a part of you that still does too."

Silence hung in the air as ice blue wisps drifted off from the gushing fountain.

"PSI Healing Omega," Lucas said.

The numbness in Ninten's bones vanished, and Claus released a sigh of relief. Over by the fountain, Ninten heard a groan and glanced over to see Mary bracing herself on her hands, long locks of black hair spilling over the front of her face.

"You two are the biggest idiots in the world," Lucas said, "But I guess I can join you and be a close third."

* * *

 **Phew, we're getting close to the end and I had to try and wrap everything up! I wanted Ana to have some role in the final few chapters but there are just too many characters to make it work. Having five here was already a huge stretch, and I only felt okay with it because Ninten didn't say anything lol.**

 **The next chapter or two will probably just be wrap up. :) Not exactly sure what the plan is but the major arcs are coming to a close.**

 **Notes:**

 **"White man's burden" as Lucas says it is a reference to a poem by R** **udyard Kipling (author of the Jungle Book) in which the speaker laments on how hard it is for white people to try and civilize lesser races and basically says that we should praise white people for colonialism because they're doing their best efforts to bring the savages up in life even when it's not beneficial to themselves. Yeah, it's really disgusting. Lucas uses it here to argue that Ninten shouldn't have sympathy for colonizers/imperialists no matter what Mary's gone through**

 **"Wings of a butterfly, veins of a maple leaf" was a recurring phrase in previous chapters in which Ninten and Claus basically say that the little details are what make life truly special.**

 **Part of the V-game with the world leaders - this is where we saw Zhang, Liu, Kim, Park, and Namiko, where Namiko set off an apocalypse because humans were destroying the environment and justified it by saying that everyone could upload their spirits to their own psyspaces and exists worry-free past death without harming the environment. This is one of the most AU parts of the fic and is my imagining of the catastrophe that send the characters of Mother 3 to the Nowhere Islands. I wanted it to connect into the outside story so I had George's motives be similar to Namiko.**

 **Review Response:** **The Arisen :** No need to thank me! :) Yeah I'm getting back in the groove so hopefully I'll be updating more frequently. Thank you so much for your support, it means a lot to me and motivates me to work harder.


	26. A New Beginning

"Thank you, Lucas." Claus beamed. "I knew you had it in you."

"Don't thank me for nearly killing your friend." Lucas glanced over at Mary. "Although I'm still not sure why we're keeping her around."

"I know I don't deserve it," Mary said, "But thank you for giving me a second chance."

"Just stop. Please." Lucas took a deep breath. "Unless you want me to threaten more people?"

"You were wrong to make those threats," Ninten said, "But we're happy that you came around, so long as you don't make the same mistakes again."

"Mistakes? I should have killed Mary, but I guess I didn't have the guts for it."

"Trust me," Mary said, standing up, "I feel the same way."

"Listen, I don't care how you feel, all right?"

"I'm not asking you to."

"Then what are you doing?"

"I don't know. Whatever helps, I guess."

"Have you ever considered that maybe you should just give up? Maybe you should just stay dead like all the other people who died."

"Like you're one to talk," Ninten said.

Lucas flashed a thin smile. "Fair enough. But I might be on my way out soon."

"And who's to say that I'm not the same?" Mary said. "I'll see what I can do to get publicity about the Nowhere Islands. I'll help Ninten get started with the PSI company after he graduates college. But after that, I think I'll be ready to finally go."

A pause. Lucas looked back and forth between Mary and Ninten, and then looked at his reflection in the blue fountain water.

"I suppose it's no longer any of my business," Lucas said. "Just be careful about the people you hurt, all right?"

"Lucas." Claus walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "We're going to be okay. Ninten's going to make sure that Mary does the right thing."

Lucas shied away from Claus' touch. "The last time I put my trust in someone else, you shot yourself."

Claus flinched, turning away and crossing his arms. Ninten could see his eyebrows knotted in betrayal, hidden from Lucas' gaze.

"I'm sorry," Lucas said. "I know that wasn't your fault."

Lucas reached out towards Claus, who glared at Lucas and stepped away.

"Well, guess I'm just a terrible person." Lucas turned to Ninten. "You said everyone matters. What about me? I'm just as cold as George and I hurt my own brother like this."

"Maybe you shouldn't make those remarks about how awful you are," Ninten said. "That's not what Claus is telling you and it probably makes him feel bad."

"See, I keep making these missteps. And I still matter? If you could kill me right now, would you?"

"Well, you're already dead."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"I would never wish for someone to stop existing. I can accept when nature runs its course for people, but it's not something I would want to inflict on others."

"Not even George?"

Ninten paused. "I wouldn't want to erase him. But given that you did, he's long down the list of people I would mourn."

"Would you feel bad for Mary if I sent her through the fountain like I threatened?"

"I know she hurt a lot of people, Lucas, but at least she's trying."

"I'm not, but you don't want to purge me."

"I can see the humanity in you."

"But not in George? Isn't there a bit of humanity in all of us? Don't we all matter?"

Ninten fell silent.

"Don't get me wrong," Lucas said. "He was an insufferable ass. But it just feels strange to hear you preach about how everyone matters and you only need to save one person to break the cycle of suffering and then not care when he's gone for good."

"Are you sure you should be lecturing me on this?"

"I'm not the one claiming to have morals." Lucas smiled. "Maybe you should check yourself, Ninten."

Ninten took a deep breath. "You know what you said about Mary? How you can't feel bad for her because she was in power and hurt so many people?"

"I don't want to have this argument again."

"No, it's not that. I think I feel a little bit of the same way about George. It's not the same as an imperialist destroying everything you love, of course, but George always told me that he was in charge and I had no say in my future. The moment I start to feel bad for him, I hear him whispering in my ear about how I owe him everything. So maybe he deserves compassion, but I don't think I can be the one to give it to him right now."

"Hmm." Lucas smiled. "I never pictured you as being so vulnerable."

"Maybe I'm not. But that's just how I feel."

"Oh, it's not an insult. It makes sense that you would have challenges as well, especially dealing with George." Lucas looked back at the fountain. "Before I go back to my Magicant, how much of this whole mess are you planning to keep secret?"

"I don't know how I feel about bringing people back from the dead, for starters," Ninten said.

"I think George was exaggerating about bringing back anyone from history," Mary said. "The only way we were able to bring Claus and Hinawa back was because we had blueprints of Claus' mind. And even then, it required PSI skills so difficult that I'm not sure I could replicate them even if I were whole."

"Okay, so that might not be in our near future," Ninten said, "But if people are dying and want to spend more time with their loved ones, maybe they should be able to upload their mind to a psyspace."

"I had a feeling you might say that. And I guess I can't blame you for not bringing this up earlier when I was threatening to kill you. Well, I don't think I could take you three on even if I wanted to, so good luck."

"Now that George is gone, we might be able to provide better ways for bring services for everyone without gating them by money," Ninten said.

"I doubt it," Lucas said. "But what I do believe is that you'll do your best. And maybe that's enough for now. So please, Ninten. Prove me wrong. Show me a society where not only the rich get more access to life than the poor."

"We'll work together to see that dream through," Mary said, "And it's also worth noting that especially in America, your fears about the rich gaining better access to life are already true."

"What do you mean?" Claus said. "Nobody else knows about storing minds in psyspaces, right?"

"Rich people have higher life expectancies than poor people, for one reason or another," Ninten said. "It's just a fact. Our efforts might help level the playing field."

"Again, I'd love if you proved me wrong," Lucas said. "Maybe I'll stick around for a while longer to see what happens. Mary, would you mind sending me back to my Magicant?"

"Lucas," Claus said. "We'll be seeing each other often, right?"

"I'd be happy to."

"You can all stay here in my Magicant for as long as you want," Mary said, "But if you want me to send you back…"

"I do."

Mary walked up to the fountain and waved a hand. "I think I should be able to do this without most of my PSI capabilities."

After a pause, the water started to glow golden, warm rays shining up to the starlit sky.

"If you use telepathy on the fountain, it will tell you where it goes," Mary said. "Just in case you don't trust me."

Lucas nodded and walked up. "So I just hop in?"

"You only need to stick your hand in if you want."

"All right." Lucas looked back at Ninten and Claus. "Good luck, and thanks for everything."

Lucas reached down towards the fountain before stopping himself. "Claus?"

"Yeah?"

"I'll wish I had been a better brother. I'm sorry."

Lucas stuck his hand in the water.

"There's still time," Claus said. "We can go back to what we had."

Lucas' body started to glow. "Thank… you…"

Lucas disappeared, leaving behind blue wisps that dissolved into the sky. Claus ran forward and grasped at the air where Lucas had stood before pressing his hands up to his chest. Turning back to Ninten, he scratched his head and looked down at the pink fluff spilling over his shoes.

"I know it's silly," Claus said. "I know I'll see him again."

"But every moment matters, right?" Ninten walked over and placed a hand on Claus' shoulder. "I understand."

"Looks like even from beyond the grave, I'm standing in between the two of you," Mary said. "I'm sure that my apology doesn't mean much to you, Claus, but I'm sorry for everything I did on the Nowhere Islands."

"It's okay."

"No it's not."

Claus looked up at Mary and frowned.

"What I did to your village will never be okay," Mary said. "I'll never expect an apology to fix anything. But I am sorry, and I'll do my best to try and put the pieces I shattered back together. I won't rest until the Nowhere Islands is free. You have my word, Claus."

"Thank you." Claus glanced at the green aurora glowing in between the glittering stars. "I used to think about this place a lot, you know. From when you and George first brought me back. I wondered why you had it so good while I had to suffer reliving my own past. But in the end it helped me come to terms with what happened, and I see that not everything was easy for you either. So in my mind, you've already started to help."

"That's rather sweet of you." Mary walked next to Claus and looked up at the stars alongside him. "I'd love to learn more about you. If you were comfortable with it, of course."

"Yeah, you can look at the data you took from my mind."

"I meant more seeing you in person. You're welcome to stop by whenever you like. You, Hinawa, Lucas, and the others."

"Claus," Ninten said. "How many other people were actually in the V-game? I know that Isaac was real, right? And Fassad?"

"We didn't meet often." Claus frowned. "My mother might know more."

"I can snoop around George's records," Mary said. "I do know that you wounded Isaac when you pulled your stunt in saving the in-game Claus from him and the Drago."

"How is that even possible?" Ninten said.

"To be honest, I'm not sure. It's probably something George was experimenting on. I was always under the impression that when I got hurt as a spirit in my own psyspace that I would regenerate all the damage. But I guess we really don't know much about what we're dealing with."

"Claus, I know you said that you wanted to go back to a simpler time," Ninten said. "How do you feel about us messing with all of this PSI technology?"

"Oh, I don't care as much as Lucas. And who knows, maybe it could help us go back to the basics. See what makes us human."

"I sure hope so," Mary said. "Although I don't think that the past was a better look for humanity than the present."

"I guess I only remember the good parts," Claus said. "I don't know."

"Oh, I didn't mean to argue with you." Mary cleared her throat. "Regardless, please stay in my Magicant for as long as you like. You can check out the castle or the village."

"A castle?" Claus' eyes lit up. "What's it like?"

"Pink, like the rest of this damn place." Mary exhaled. "I can teleport you there if you want."

Claus bobbed his head up and down. "Please."

Mary started the hand motions for PSI teleport.

"Wait." Claus looked over at Ninten. "This isn't a goodbye, right? We still have so much to talk about."

"Right," Ninten said. "This isn't a farewell. It's a new beginning for both of us."

Claus grinned. "Then I'll see you later. But I bet it's late out in the real world. You should get some sleep so that you feel like yourself when we talk later."

Claus looked up at Mary and nodded, and she finished the PSI manifestation and teleported him away. Claus faded out of the scene with a wave for Ninten.

"A new beginning, huh?" Mary glanced over at a steel spire that pierced the heavens above. "I'm almost tempted to believe it."

"Things aren't going to be easy for either of us," Ninten said. "But sometimes life has its way of lifting weights off our shoulders even when we face challenges."

"I hope that day comes for me. But until then I'll do my best to help you and the Nowhere Islands."

"It looks like you already saved Claus by bringing him back and giving him a chance to work through his past," Ninten said. "And you know the saying."

"One person to break the cycle of suffering." Mary surveyed the pink landscape. "But I don't think I can take credit for Claus. You were the one who helped him."

"Well, do you have any ideas for helping the Nowhere Islands? We should probably use your influence to put a spotlight on the issue, but I'm not familiar with how to start a media sensation."

"I think that right now Claus is right. Maybe you should rest."

"It can't be that late, can it?"

Mary shot Ninten a flat stare. "You arrived in the middle of the night."

"Oh. Right." Ninten yawned. "And I'm kind of in a forest, right?"

"Trust me, you would know if something happened to your body, even from my Magicant. But who knows how long that will stay? You should go back to your apartment before you catch a cold."

"What a grandma thing to say."

Mary rolled her eyes. "Or before people steal your wallet."

"Okay, fair enough. Can I exit your Magicant just like any other?"

Mary nodded. "I'll see you later. I'll probably be bored out of my skull, so feel free to stop by whenever."

"We have to find a way to install something in my apartment so that I don't have to go off the path in the middle of the forest to visit you. Doesn't sound like a great long-term plan."

"I'll work on it. But for now, maybe just bring Ana with you to keep guard if she's okay with it."

"I'll have to bribe her with food." Ninten sighed. "My pockets aren't endless, grandma."

"Your great-grandparents are billionaires. They'll find some way for you to afford it."

"But I don't want to use your money-"

Mary shook her head. "I insist."

Ninten laughed. "What a grandma."

"Well this grandma wants for her baby boy not to have dark circles under his eyes tomorrow. I'll talk to you later. I love you, Ninten."

"Yeah, love you too." Ninten closed his eyes and started to detach his mind from the present.

"And Ninten?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for everything."

Ninten didn't stop his mind from leaving Mary's Magicant in time to respond.

* * *

Ninten started awake on damp dirt. He groaned, leaning up, shielding his eyes from a glowing ball of light in front of him. The orb radiated heat that sent shimmers through the air around it like a fire.

"About time." Ninten heard someone stand up next to him. "What happened in there?"

Ninten looked around to see Ana with her hands on her hips. He rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"Things went well. I can tell you the full story tomorrow, but I need sleep." Ninten looked back at the glowing sphere. "Thanks for keeping a lookout."

"Well, since you had all the fun while I was stuck looking at some trees, maybe you could pay for ice cream tomorrow?"

"When did we decide that we were getting ice cream? I have to watch my weight, you know."

"With Ness, dummy. Remember?"

"Oh, right."

Ana shook his head. "I'm sure that he thinks I'm awful for forgetting about his dad back then, but look at who's the real amnesiac here."

"Well, I was fighting for my life and getting stabbed by someone I loved, so maybe you should be paying for me."

Ana laughed. "We can talk about it tomorrow. Now are you going to get up or do I need to carry you?"

"Would you actually?"

"If you needed me to. You say that you need to watch your pounds but I can literally bench press your weight."

"Well, if you wanted to give me a piggy-back ride…"

"Is that your kink?"

"Shut up." Ninten scrambled to his feet.

"There's no shame in it, you know."

"Conversation over. I'm walking."

"Knew it." Ana nudged Ninten with her elbow. "So predictable. It's a wonder that you were able to pull anything over Mary."

"I'll tell you about it later," Ninten said, walking towards the path. "But I can say that I'll still have a lot of work to do."

"Well, that sucks."

"Not in my mind." Ninten looked up at the starry sky. "I think that this is exactly the new beginning that we all need."

* * *

 **One of the things I was realizing when writing this chapter was that all of the "kid" characters in the Magicant have a sort of adult counterpart that they have similar qualities to. Claus and Hinawa both were innocent at first and got turned hard and bitter, the story draws similarities between Ninten and Mary all the time and they're both pragmatic as well as emotional, and in the past few chapters we see how Lucas is similar to George in that they play the "anti-hero" role while kinda just being assholes. I was playing Octopath Traveler recently and one of the cool things about the storytelling in that game is that the antagonists/villains often reveal an alternate route that the main character could take and help push the characters to recognize things about themselves. I guess subconsciously maybe this is why I matched George up with Lucas, to push Lucas' character given that George is a big meanie. :(**

 **And then there's just Ana haha.**

 **Anyways this is the last "chapter" of the story... but there will be an epilogue! Hopefully the ending is satisfying, there wasn't a super huge climax fight but it didn't really feel right for the story since it was supposed to be a bit more "realistic" and show how Ninten is going out into the bigger world.  
**

 **Thank you for reading this far! :)**

 **Review Response: Genie:** Omg the memes I think this is the first time I've ever experienced one of my friends saying "yeet." I am scarred by this, Genie. ;( Something about "prepare for trouble you pineapple" is just marvelous to me. Pineapple. I don't think I've ever used that word in one of my stories. And this would be a great time for hello darkness my old friend lolol. All jokes aside though it was difficult balancing being realistic about depression where everything seems hopeless with not coming across as being too dramatic. I'm sure I could have done it better but I'm glad I took the risk. :) Yay for one-liners. In the two chapters before this you can see a bit of George's perspective. He clearly thinks that he has redeeming qualities but that's up to you to decide. Generally I try to make my villains sympathetic but George is just George I guess. Still if he is evil I hope he comes off as distinctly evil and not blandly evil. And yes Ninten definitely did take a stab at it haha. Aww thank you I'll try to keep writing!


	27. Epilogue: The Day After

"Well, that's quite a story," Ana said.

Ninten rubbed his eyes, glancing up at the fluffy clouds spotting the blue sky. Rays shone down from the sun and heated Ninten's black shirt until it felt like a warm towel. He stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk and caught himself before faceplanting into the cement.

"Easy there." Ana grabbed onto his shoulder. "Are you feeling up for this?"

"I'll be fine. Although technically we're not supposed to be doing this."

"Oh my god. I was kidding with what I said yesterday about your amnesia, but this makes me wonder if you remember that we broke into someone's personal psyspace."

"Hmm. I guess that did happen a couple days ago."

Ana made a "pfft" noise before walking through a set of doors into a building with rose beds decorating the outside. Ninten followed her through the building until they reached the locked staircase.

"We could just message him, you know," Ninten said.

"So impatient."

"He's supposed to be the one to let us up anyway."

"The people here don't mind." Ana looked over at a boy walking down the hall. "Excuse me, would you mind opening the door for us? We're seeing a friend."

"Oh, sure." The boy scanned his ID card and the door made a clicking noise.

Ana shot Ninten a smug smile.

"Do you want congratulations for asking someone to unlock a door?"

"I don't need your approval to be a winner."

"Sure. You can call yourself that if you want."

Ana took the lead walking up the staircase, citing her status as "winner" for justification. After walking up a few flights of dusty stairs and staring at long-dried gum on all the pipes, Ana waited for someone to go out of another door before walking into the carpeted hall.

Ninten followed Ana through the passageway of identical-looking oaken doors with different nameplates on cartoon pawprint cutouts.

"Do you remember what our door decorations were last year?" Ninten said.

"I don't like to think about where we lived last year at all." Ana pretended to shiver. "Do you remember those girls a few doors down who would always scream with their shrill hyena voices when they partied through the night? I think it would have been easier for me to go nocturnal that year."

"And miss all your classes?"

"Honestly, it might have been a worthwhile trade." Ana halted in front of a door.

Ninten looked at the two names written on the pawprint cutouts. "Ness" came as no surprise, of course, but "Lucas" hit him like a punch to the gut. Ana walked up and rapped on the door. She sighed, drumming her fingers on the door like a piano player practicing scales. A few moments later, Ness swung the door open and looked back and forth between Ana and Ninten with at questioning gaze.

"You ready?" Ana said.

"Ana and I were wondering if you'd want to go out for ice cream now," Ninten said.

"Sure." Ness paused. "Dude, you look worse than me. What happened to you last night?"

"Me?" Ninten said.

"Obviously," Ana said.

"Well, I'm not sure how much we're supposed to say," Ninten told Ness. "Maybe one day we'll tell you. I'm not sure if you'd believe us anyway."

"Knowing you two, I wouldn't be surprised if you found a hole in the space-time continuum."

"Damn," Ana said. "He got us good."

"Well, I think that Ana's going to burst if she doesn't get her quadruple chocolate or whatever, so maybe we should start to stroll over to the ice cream store."

"Since when did you speak for me?" Ana crossed her arms. "And that's sexist."

Ninten sighed. "How is that sexist?"

"I just wanted to get a reaction out of you. Now I'm a winner in two ways." Ana flashed a grin. "And I'm paying for your ice cream, so you had better be graceful in your defeat."

"You are?" Ninten said.

"Yeah, because I'm a good friend and I care when you've gone through a wild ride. You're welcome."

Ninten grunted. "Ready to go, Ness?"

Ness nodded. He fished around in his pocket and jiggled his keys before stepping out and closing the door behind him.

"And what a rude friend you are," Ana said. "Rich people, I swear. My family had to _work_ for this money."

Ninten rolled his eyes, but when Ana couldn't see him he let his smile show.

Nothing like a chat with friends to go back to after the longest couple of days in his life.

(ILH)

Ana pressed her palms against the glass of the ice cream display. "No triple fudge brownie. Woe is me."

"Well, they have mango," Ninten said. "You could always try a superior flavor."

"Fuck off."

Ness walked past Ninten and Ana, examining some of the other flavors.

"So are you paying for the three of us?" Ness said, glancing up at the price board.

"Well, I'm definitely paying for you. Who pays for Ninten will be a result of his actions."

Ana scurried off to another set of ice cream containers and leaned into study the flavors until her forehead almost touched the glass.

"Well, that's nice of her," Ness said.

"I think she feels bad about forgetting your dad. It was a long day for both of us."

"Yeah, I feel bad for being cold about it." Ness glanced out the window. "It's just hard. Like what happens if my mom is distraught and doesn't work? I'm not going to let her and Tracy starve. But if I don't get a degree I'm not sure how much I can do."

Ninten nodded. He knew better than to offer money. Maybe later if it came to that.

"I heard that the dean passed away," Ness said. "From unknown causes as well. Seems suspicious, doesn't it?"

"Uh, yeah. It does."

Ness shook his head. "You're too honest, Ninten. I hope that you weren't involved in his disappearance?"

"Not me. It was, um…"

Ness raised an eyebrow.

"I can't really tell you."

"That just makes you sound more suspicious."

"Well you wouldn't believe me if I told you who killed George."

"Someone killed him?"

"Uh, well if someone _did_ kill him then-"

"You need to practice on that lying if you're going to go into business." Ness bit his lip. "But I can stop grilling you. How close were you with Lucas, anyway? And with the dean, I guess."

"Ana was closer with Lucas. And while I don't ever want to rejoice at death, George isn't high on the list of people I'm going to send sympathies for."

"Wow, and coming from you."

"And what does that mean?"

"You're just so innocent. Not in a bad way or anything, but-"

"Yeah, I get it. I've been given everything in life."

But now it was time to do something real.

"Well," Ness said, "No matter what happened in the past couple of days, I'm sure that you did your best. And I do trust you that you didn't kill the dean. You're not that stupid, and I know that you wouldn't harm a fly either way."

The image of Ninten's dagger entering Mary's stomach popped into his mind.

"Ness?"

"Mm hmm."

"What's the best way for us to support you right now? I've never had this happen to anyone I know."

"Well I'm glad nobody you know is dying from cancer." Ness paused. "I think just showing that you care enough to ask me question is good. I don't mind anything."

"Anything, huh?" Ninten took a deep breath. "So what's the timeline looking like?"

"When's my dad going to die, you mean?" Ness flashed a dull smile. "The doctors say about three months."

"How do you feel about that?"

"It's okay. Better than one. Not that much better than six. I think he feels that way too. Feels like we can get done everything we need to before then."

 _You have to promise me, Ninten._ Lucas' words echoed in his mind.

This might be the fastest that Ninten would ever break a promise.

"I'm not sure I can give you the full details yet," Ninten said. "But I might be able to do something."

"I don't want your money."

"I can't save your father's life, of course, but maybe I can make it so that he still exists after death."

Ness frowned. "I think ripping a hole in the spacetime continuum actually makes more sense than what you just said."

"I promise that you'll be able to see your father again after three months. Maybe not do everything you want with him, but you'll be able to talk for as long as you need."

"You know, most people would accuse you of being insane right now." Ness glanced over at Ana. "Unless you two discovered a dirty little secret about George's PSI company?"

Ninten fell silent.

"Well, that's interesting," Ness said. "Thanks, Ninten. I'll talk with you about it once you can share more of the details, I guess? Hopefully you can understand that I don't want to get my hopes up too much."

"Of course."

Ninten exhaled. This new beginning of Ninten's had many branching paths. Before it had been linear: elementary school, middle school, high school, college. But now his choices could change the world.

And he was ready to dive into the possibilities. Who better to start with saving than the loved one of a friend?

But for now…

"For now," Ninten said, "Let's enjoy our ice cream."

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading this story all the way through! I had a lot of fun writing it and hopefully you enjoyed reading it at least a little bit. :)**

 **I think I may have tipped my hand a bit plainly with the ending where Ninten talks about branching paths. The more I wrote this story the more it seems to me like it's about Ninten being set up for success in the past but now having a chance to challenge his path and do what he wants in the big wide world. But hey, maybe it means something totally different to you, and that's fine.**

 **And the branching paths stuff is also my excuse for why the story kinda ends open-ended lol. But we know that Ninten doesn't feel as trapped anymore, and after a long journey I'm glad he got something out of it. :)**

 **But seriously, thanks for reading all the way through. It means the world to me.**


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